


Notice Period

by Miss_Murdered



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Blow Jobs, Business!AU, Dirty Talk, Drunken Flirting, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Sap in places, Suits, Switching, implied otayuri, virgin!Yuuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:11:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9119083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Murdered/pseuds/Miss_Murdered
Summary: Yuuri has decided to give up his high-flying job and return home. The only drawback is showing the ropes to his successor, a man named Victor Nikiforov.





	1. Day One

It was three years that Yuuri had worked at the same desk in the same corner office of the same elaborate office building in the business heart of Barcelona, Les Corts. It was three years he had worked all the hours he could, sitting behind the same computer screens and behind the same white glistening desk. It was three years of the series of suits and ties, of shining shoes and slicked back hair. It was five years of early mornings, of gym sessions in the early hours and late nights spent doing more and more work on his laptop in bed. And now Yuuri was done.

When Yuuri had been a boy, he had never planned on the career path that he had followed. He had planned on doing something far more romantic. He had wanted to be a figure skater and had practiced all the hours he could at the local rink. Yet that dream had soon floundered after injuries and he had given up to pursue a career path in international business.

He had always been good at numbers. Ever since he had been eight, he had done the accountancy for his parent’s inn and hot springs. He was better and more business-minded than his father and his mother soon came to rely on Yuuri more and more. By the time he was ready for university, Yuuri had been running his parent’s business and he was more than capable of doing their books in his sleep. He required a challenge. And he had found one.

Yuuri had been the top of his class at university and had soon found himself working in Tokyo for a large international investment firm after a Professor put in a good word with one of his old students. This had lasted six months until a position had become available in Barcelona and due to his impressive track record, he had been given the opportunity to move there. He had been unsure of the opportunity initially yet Yuuri was pragmatic enough to know that if he declined, he would never be offered something again so he accepted and found himself at the other side of the world in an unfamiliar city surrounded by a people who spoke a language he barely knew.

He spoke English well and found most of his colleagues spoke the language too but he disliked going into the city and feeling so clueless so Yuuri tried to teach himself Spanish. Yet he was not able to devote the time to it so he ended up living a dull existence of moving between his soulless white apartment and the soulless white office. He had barely spent any time seeing Barcelona during all the years he had lived there and he had developed a home sickness that had become all-consuming. All he wanted was home and Yuuri made the decision. The decision to quit his high flying finance job and return home.

Due to his position in the firm, Yuuri had to give an extended notice period yet he had negotiated this down to a month with his manager, Christophe after signing a non-disclosure agreement and a contract that stated he would never work for a rival firm. This was fine with Yuuri. He didn’t want to work anywhere else doing the same job and he was returning home to run his parents business. It didn’t matter to him.

It surprised many of his colleagues. Yuuri was known for his dedication and known for his ability to work through the night if there was important work to be done. He was loyal, fair and hard-working. And he made a _lot_ of money. But Yuuri didn’t care about that. Not anymore. He had not had more than a day off in so damn long and he missed the hot springs and his mother’s pork cutlet bowls and he wanted nothing more than to read books and sit around and get fat. And maybe he would even skate again. He missed that.

It was now the start of his official month notice period and Yuuri felt weird as he arrived at the office and went through the usual security processes. He felt like he no longer belonged and he no longer did. This month was going to be a period of transferring all his knowledge and skills to his successor, a process that Yuuri was not looking forward to.

They called him “the Russian” and he was well known within the company for his flamboyance and the disregard he showed towards the company expenses policy. He had negotiated his transfer to Barcelona for himself and his assistant who was apparently rude and aggressive with anyone who dared to approach “the Russian”. Everyone around Yuuri were eyeing each other nervously and had been doing so since the news of Yuuri’s departure and the imminent arrival of “the Russian” yet Yuuri felt removed from it, ignored it and just tried to figure out what he needed to do in the weeks he had remaining.

When he arrived at his office, Yuuri smiled at his own assistant/receptionist and offered a smile to Phichit who looked particularly upset this morning.

“Don’t- !” he started to stay but it was too late.

It seemed Phichit wanted to give Yuuri a warning. And really Yuuri would’ve appreciated one. His morning had felt odd from the moment he had woken up, his life suddenly out of the old routines and he had a heavy feeling in his stomach on his journey into work. He had been trying to just get on with everything, knowing that it would soon be time to return home, yet now the equilibrium he had managed to establish vanished the second he pushed on the door and stepped into his office.

As it wasn’t his office anymore. It hadn’t been as though Yuuri had made his office “his”. It was stark and it had very few possessions in it. He had never really felt like he was staying so Yuuri had never seen the point in framing photographs or buying art. Phichit had bought Yuuri a plant some time ago that was still alive but apart from that there was very little of Yuuri’s in his office. Yet despite the fact there was little of his own possessions in his office, it was still Yuuri’s. But apparently it wasn’t anymore.

As right now, his few possessions (and his own computer and two large screens) were in a cardboard box on the floor and his office chair was now occupied by someone else. This someone else was sat on it with his feet on the white shiny desk in front of him. He wore a tight black suit from what Yuuri could see and his silver hair was styled in such a fashion that it fell over one eye dramatically.

Currently, he was rocking in the chair (Yuuri’s chair!) and he watching as his assistant was hanging up a large painting on the wall.

“There, yes there, Yurio…!” he said as he spoke in heavily accented English. “I think we’ll need to find another chair or get mine shipped from Moscow… I don’t think this one has enough support – ah!”

It seemed Yuuri had not been noticed, the pair too absorbed in their own activities, yet now it seemed “the Russian” had realised that he was there.

“Sorry! Didn’t see you there.”

With that apology, he got out of the chair and soon Yuuri was looking up at the man who was taking over his office and job.

“I’m Victor Nikiforov and you must be Yuuri?”

Yuuri nodded dumbly, his balance off kilter still, and looked up Victor. He could note, despite his compromised situation, that Victor was ridiculously good-looking and he suddenly understood some of the rumours that had pervaded about “the Russian”. Ruthless, gorgeous and charming. He was a threat and if Yuuri had been staying with the company, he would’ve felt intimidated. As it was, Yuuri only felt annoyed. And suddenly homeless. His office had been where he had spent the majority of his time in Barcelona and seeing it suddenly transformed gave Yuuri a strange feeling in his chest. It made it real.

He really was giving it all up. He really was returning home. None of it mattered but still… This Victor was already erasing Yuuri’s life for the past three years. And he already felt invisible and forgotten.

“Sorry for taking over already… I thought it would be best to get my interior decoration organised prior to you leaving when my workload will be too high for me to focus on this. You don’t mind?”

“Ugh… no,” Yuuri replied as he glanced at the possessions that already littered the office. Victor seemed to like gold. Yuuri felt very inarticulate in front of “the Russian” and it made him dread the next month with even more trepidation.

“Good…” Victor said, his eyes now looking past Yuuri to the wall. “No Yurio… that does _not_ look right there. We’ll have to start again…”

It seemed Yuuri had been forgotten and rather than stay beyond his welcome in his _own_ office, he departed with his cardboard box of belongings and dumped them onto Phichit’s desk unceremoniously.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t stop them.”

Yuuri could see his assistant looked anxious and Yuuri could quite easily have exploded at Phichit but he didn’t. There was no point. “No problem. Can you hook up my computer and find a laptop I can use? I’m going to get a coffee…”

“Yes, sir!” Phichit said quickly, scurrying off to acquire whatever he needed.

Yuuri looked over to his office, gazing through the glass and he put his hands in the pockets of his tight suit trousers before he turned away and went in search of much needed strong coffee.


	2. Day Three

Yuuri had established a new routine by third day after Victor Nikiforov’s arrival. Instead of rushing up from his bed early for a gym session, Yuuri had opted to laze in bed longer, read books that he had been bought and enjoy the warmth of his plush bed. He didn’t bother with his contact lenses, nor did he bother with slicking back his hair. Instead, he dressed in his less extravagant suits and opted for subdued ties. He no longer needed to impress anyone. Plus he no longer had his own office to escape to.

Instead of going to his office, Yuuri had found a new place to work. He had been aware that the building where he had worked for three years had various facilities. Yet he had never really paid attention to them or the other businesses that were located on the other floors of the towering skyscraper.

Yuuri had discovered a coffee shop just off the main reception area, an area he passed by every day, and it was a light space that was decorated with trendy heavy wooden benches and had large abstract prints littering the walls. He had found a particular table he liked and had found the wi fi signal was good enough for him to work there without any interference.

As Yuuri had asked, Phichit had set up Yuuri’s computer after he had been thrown out of his office (at least metaphorically), and Yuuri had transferred everything relevant to a company secure laptop. After that was done, he had figured he could work anywhere. He just had to find somewhere. That’s when he’d come across the coffee shop and he had ordered a caramel latte and found a spot to work.

It was an intriguing place to sit as Yuuri soon came to realise there were plenty other people busy working in the place. There were people pouring over drawings and tablets and laptops. Yet there was also nervous people waiting prior to interviews, their anxieties interesting for Yuuri to observe as he remembered when he felt like that. He felt so removed from it all and instead would sip at his coffees and read through his emails and spreadsheets to ascertain what he needed to tell Victor.

Phichit had soon come to join Yuuri in his spot. Yuuri felt bad for his assistant, very aware that he no longer had a job when Victor came with his own. It seemed Phichit was not feeling sorry for himself, however. As Yuuri worked through three years of data, Phichit had looking for jobs and Yuuri promised him an outstanding reference. It seemed neither of them was that perturbed by their world turning upside down.

It was day three that Yuuri decided to venture back to his office, laptop in hand and see whether Victor required help. It seemed Victor had been more interested in the décor of his office than finding out about the actual job so Yuuri hadn’t bothered helping at all. At least not yet.

But now, he figured he better. After all, he was still being paid during his notice period even if he was not really working or caring. When he arrived at the office, he saw that it had undergone a very radical transformation and he barely recognised it from the subdued white and chrome he had worked in.

Victor _really_ did like gold and he seemed to like various shades of purple. And some leopard print. It was difficult not to find the whole decoration gaudy but somehow there were touches that showed taste despite the seemingly disparate elements. As he approached the glass door, Yuuri wondered whether he should knock. The assistant had not opted to sit where Phichit had outside the office and so Yuuri was not quite sure what he was to do. It felt wrong knocking on his own office door yet still it wasn’t his anymore. He was finding this whole process mind-melting and he was unsure what to do. It seemed his delay had made the inhabitants of the office aware as that moment the door swung open and Yuuri was ushered inside.

And abruptly attacked. He was attacked by something fluffy, brown and large and soon Yuuri was on his back on a plush cream rug (which he had not had in his office) and being licked on his face, his glasses now skewed on his face.

“Makkachin – off _now!”_

With that command, Yuuri no longer had a dog on top of him and he was able to sit up and re-arrange his glasses. He blinked as he saw that he was now covered with fluff from both dog and rug and he stood up, attempting to brush both onto the floor.

“Sorry,” Victor said and Yuuri suddenly felt hands all over him.

Confident strokes of hands were on his chest, on his back, brushing at his shoulders and then at his thighs and dangerously near his ass. Yuuri tried not to blush at the intimate touch that Victor barely seemed to register. It seemed Victor viewed his near groping as only “helping” Yuuri out by removing the fluff and fur on his clothes. Yet Yuuri felt hot and flustered. He hated his body and he glanced away from the confident attractive man in front of him, focusing instead on the bored looking assistant who was laid on a chaise lounge, a smart phone poised above his head.

“Uhhh, no problem,” Yuuri said once the man-handling had finished, a hand scratching at the back of his neck as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

That was hard to do as Yuuri _was_ embarrassed. As he was still a damn virgin at 24 and that wasn’t something he wanted to reveal to Victor. In fact, he didn’t really want to reveal that fact to anyone. Yuuri had always been too focused on work to find a partner and he wasn’t really sure whether he wanted flings or one-night stands. They didn’t really interest him or seem satisfying. He wasn’t exactly sure about his sexuality but he knew he didn’t really see genders as such. Instead, he was attracted to a person and those people were often unobtainable – married or otherwise. He could admit, he had an attraction to Christophe, his manager but he also knew Christophe had a fashion designer husband and that his often hands on attitude was just his way of showing interest in his staff’s work. Not anything more.

There were frequent parties when he had first started work and Yuuri had attended them to fit in yet despite the numerous glasses of  champagne he had consumed, Yuuri didn’t approach colleagues or business partners, instead he would remain in his own corner getting drunker until he lugged his body out of the party and to a taxi. Drunken sex didn’t appeal despite the fact it would be easy to find a willing partner.

The longer Yuuri worked, the more he realised he didn’t have to attend the functions to be considered a good employee so he avoided them. Instead he got more and more dedicated to his job and his opportunities for romance became smaller and smaller.

So he reached 24 a blushing virgin. And he hated it.

“I was hoping you’d visit,” Victor said, walking to his large office chair, the dog at his heels, “the decoration is complete so I feel we need to discuss the important things.”

Yuuri nodded, suddenly feeling more composed when he knew he was going to be talking work and shop talk. He reached down for his laptop case that had been disturbed by the dog attack.

“Take a seat,” Victor said and Yuuri almost rolled his eyes at the offer in what was still, technically, his office.

He took a seat in a large cream chair with deep comfortable cushions and Victor took a seat in his grand office chair, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the wooden surface of his desk and propping his chin on his hands.

“So… I have a few… requests during this handover period.”

The word request seemed a bit odd to Yuuri but he ignored the term and instead gave a small smile and nod. “Go ahead.”

“You’ve worked here three years Yuuri. I’m sure you have a lot of valuable information to share.”

“Of course… I have valuable information of contacts and which colleagues to approach for help and-”

He heard a snicker from the direction of the chaise lounge and Yuuri glanced towards the young assistant before returning his gaze to Victor who was holding a hand up as though to stop Yuuri’s words. It made him feel like a child.

“I don’t care about the job. The job is what I did in Moscow already. I have contacts. I have what I need.”

Yuuri stiffened in his chair, his hands grabbing at the plush arms of it and digging into the fabric. It annoyed him further. He was going to speak to Christophe about the damn “Russian”. If he wasn’t willing to accept Yuuri’s help and care only for superficial crap then Yuuri should be allowed to leave his role early. There was no need for the money. Not now.,

“I need you to show me Barcelona. Let me see the city you know. This city is new to me and I want to find the best bars and clubs and food,” Victor explained and then he chuckled, a deep throaty sound that sent shivers up Yuuri’s spine. “I’m sure a young guy like you has had much experience in this area.”

Dumbfounded, Yuuri wasn’t sure what to say. He had no idea about Barcelona. And he had nothing to show Victor. Yet the way he spoke, smooth as chocolate, was intoxicating and Yuuri briefly forgot the fact that he knew nothing about the city that he lived in and he nodded.

“Good!” Victor said, clapping his hands in delight. “This Friday night, you’ll show me the sights!”

It was only as Yuuri left the office, the remains of fluff from the carpet and dog hair on his suit, did he realise how damn stupid he’d been.  


	3. Day Five

Yuuri had taken advice from Phichit of where to eat and drink in Barcelona. He thought this was the best course of action as his assistant had been in the same position when he’d arrived in Spain as Yuuri but instead of devoting himself to work, Phichit actually seemed to have fun and have friends. Or at least that’s what Yuuri saw when he spied on his Instagram account when Phichit was using it during office hours on his computer. Yuuri never told his assistant off – he didn’t mind the odd bit of social media and was not going to discipline him for such a minor indirection. Especially when he had seen what Victor’s assistant seemed to act like.

When Phichit had recommended a few places, Yuuri had then gone about securing a reservation for a meal. Being that it was Tuesday and Victor wanted to go out on Friday, Yuuri found this somewhat difficult due to the popularity of the recommended restaurants.  One, though, had had a cancellation and Yuuri grabbed at the offer from the hostess over the phone. It was an early reservation, 5.30pm, but Yuuri thought it was best to get something and so he gave over his credit card details without hesitation and then opted to email Victor regarding their plans via his work email account.

The response back was thoroughly unprofessional.

Yuuri had stared at it.

_Good. Please wear your hair slicked back and contacts._

_V :)_

Frowning, Yuuri had looked at the email numerous times. If he had a friend or confidant, he would’ve asked for advice due to the bizarre request but as it was, Yuuri could only think that Victor was messing with him. In a very weird way. And how the hell did he know that he usually had his hair slicked back and contacts? He’d been more casual this week at work and they’d only met this week. Thus Yuuri thought about completely ignoring the request.

Yet as he got dressed, far far too early for dinner, he decided to go for a tight fitting black suit which he wore with a purple tie with a hint of glitter in it. It shimmered, but not obnoxiously so and Yuuri had always liked it for more formal events. He looked at his glasses on the counter in the bathroom and decided that he _would_ put his contacts in despite the request. It made life easier when he ate out as nothing could steam them up then. That’s how he rationalised it as he put them in. And then he _did_ look better with his hair slicked back when he wasn’t wearing his glasses. So Yuuri did that. Because he liked. Not because of Victor.

They agreed to meet at the restaurant and Yuuri checked in at the podium and waited. And waited. And waited until the kind greeter offered to show him to his table in case his date was running “late”. Humiliated but sure Victor would turn up (eventually), Yuuri was led to his table and took a seat. Then wished he hadn’t.

He should’ve just left when Victor wasn’t there. As this place clearly had a focus on couples and romance. And Yuuri wasn’t trying to romance Victor. Or he didn’t think he was.

There was a candle in the middle of the table, subdued lighting throughout and the chairs were close so that their knees would touch underneath. Yuuri debated about leaving and was about to do that when he felt a hand on his shoulder and breath on his neck just below his ear.

“This is a little romantic for a casual meal, don’t you think?”

Yuuri could only swallow and jerk nearly out of his seat at the touch and the feel of moist hot breath on his skin. Victor laughed at Yuuri’s response which caused him to blush a deeper shade of red than he was already. He had realised he had made a mistake with the romantic ambience of the restaurant. He didn’t need Victor to point it out.

“I’m sorry – my assistant recommended it,” Yuuri spluttered out as Victor took a seat opposite him smoothly. Yuuri was noticing how everything Victor seemed to do was elegant and Yuuri suddenly felt less composed as he watched.

He felt off-kilter. Again. It seemed everything since Victor arrived was making Yuuri feel as though he was on a rollercoaster and all he wanted to do was get off it. His heart couldn’t take it. Nor could his stomach.

“Don’t worry,” Victor replied, flicking back his head so that his hair no longer obscured his eyes as much, “I like an intimate restaurant.”

Yuuri let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. “I’m glad.”

“You’re assistant recommended… I thought you were showing me _your_ favourite places?”

The brief moment of relief was over and Yuuri raised his hands in protest but Victor laughed again, a laugh that was smooth and deep and unbelievably sexy.

“I’m teasing you, Yuuri. Now let’s order wine, yes?”

Due to having no knowledge on wine, Yuuri let Victor order for both them and he observed the conversation between Victor and the sommelier with intense confusion and curiousity. He had been aware wine came in varieties but didn’t really get the different types and notes or whatever Victor was talking about. When the wine came, Victor tasted it, deemed it fine and it was poured in large glasses.

A large glass that Yuuri drank very quickly. He wasn’t a heavy drinker and Yuuri generally lived a healthy and dull life. So the first glass of wine seemed to have an affect straight away. It wasn’t that he felt drunk. It was that he felt more at ease, less uptight and more able to talk to Victor. Rather than just splutter and blush at him.

“I don’t really know where to go…” Yuuri admitted when Victor poured his second glass of red, the wine sloshing around, “I’ve only been out a few times since I’ve lived here.”

Victor was nodding at Yuuri’s sorry tale and nibbling at the bread served with sea salt butter. “I guessed. You don’t seem the going out type.”

“I’m…” Yuuri started and then looked down sadly at the red liquid in front of him, “I’m very devoted to my work.”

“That’s why you’re giving it up?”

Yuuri looked back at Victor, at the way his eyes seemed to sparkle in the dim light of the resturaunt and the way his slender fingers curved around the wine glass stem. He realised what Victor meant about it being an intimiate place. All the other customers were wrapped up in one another, all the tables just the right distance away from one another and the serving staff were inconspiciouus and efficient. The atmosphere made Yuuri feel more able to talk than usual. Or maybe it was the wine. But whichever it was, Yuuri began to talk.

“I haven’t had time to myself since I was a boy… I’ve dedicated my life to my work and all I have to show for it is a non-disclosure agreement and a series of pay cheques that I’ve barely spent. I miss having time to skate and read and do other things… I’ve never had a…” Yuuri stopped, his face going bright red as he realised what he was going to say. He was going to say “ _lover”_ and he didn’t want to reveal that he was a virgin to Victor. Not when he already was so flustered and ridiculous around him. “A relationship,” he concluded with a nod.

Relationship was true, he’d never really done that either, nor had he even done any kissing so to speak of. He had kissed a few girls during his teen years but they had been pretty forgettable and uninspiring. Yuuri had a suspicion he was being used as “practice” for some of the girls and that was perhaps why there had been no real interest from either party. To be fair, Yuuri was never very enthusiastic either, he was just doing it as it was what he was supposed to do. He would have preferred to be alone.

“You must have a lot of stamina to have worked so hard with so little reward,” Victor said as he swirled his wine around his glass. “My view has always been to work hard and play hard. Life is short.”

Yuuri gaped at Victor. The man in front of him was the complete opposite to himself. He could see that from the suit he was wearing. While Yuuri’s suit was expensive, it was of a simple old fashioned cut and apart from the purple tie, he wore no colour. Victor was wearing a suit of a deep purple and a black shirt underneath that was unbuttoned so far that it had be for aesthetic rather than for comfort. He wasn’t afraid of standing out or being seen. It seemed Yuuri had spent his life hiding in an office.

The thoughts swirling around Yuuri head made him dizzy and so he excused himself to the bathroom. He could feel the wine, the heady feeling around his temples and he knew he should stop drinking. It was very early in the evening. He looked in the mirror, saw the slight sheen of sweat on his brow and he frowned at his image. He was going to have a successful night with Victor, he decided as he dabbed some cold water on his face and ran fingers through his slick hair to ensure it stayed in place.

Yuuri wasn’t going to drink anymore. He was going to eat his food and then he would go to a bar or two with Victor and then he would get a taxi home. He would drink a glass of water when he arrived at his apartment and be in bed by 11.00. Then he would pack up more of his apartment and figure out what he could leave behind.

Looking at the Yuuri in the mirror, he nodded, agreeing with the plan of action. He strolled back to the table feeling composed and prepared to have a civilised evening with a work colleague.

Yet when he arrived, the food on the table, Victor was smiling a dangerous sexy smile as he held a bottle.

“I ordered champagne to go with our food!”

As Yuuri took a seat, he managed a weak smile. He was doomed.


	4. Day Six

When Yuuri woke, he felt a fuzziness that enveloped him, a sort of blissful ignorance as he snuggled into his plush bedding, enjoying the warmth and comfort. That fuzzy blurry feeling did not last long. As that fuzzy blurry feeling came with a headache and a sickness in his stomach that indicated that Yuuri had had far too much champagne last night…

Shit. Last night.

Yuuri jerked up and attempted to sit up but the entire room lurched and span and he ended up back on his pillow looking up at the tiled ceiling above him. He was going to try again. Try to move but something stopped him. Or rather _someone_ as suddenly Yuuri realised that he wasn’t alone in his bed.

“Don’t get up. I’ll get you some water and painkillers.”

That _voice._ It took a moment for Yuuri to figure it out and he didn’t dare turn to look, at least not yet, but he felt his whole body blushing red as he realised that Victor was in his bed. Not just in his apartment. Not even just in his room. He was in Yuuri’s bed. And as Yuuri wriggled, he suddenly realised he was wearing nothing but boxer briefs.

“Vic…tor?” he croaked out, his voice hoarse as he saw through his distorted vision, a blurry shape get out of the bed and walk towards the door.

“The one and only… I had to stay last night as you were… not in good shape.”

With that statement, Victor walked out of Yuuri’s room leaving him to feel humiliated and confused. As he didn’t really remember being “not in good shape” nor really what had happened. And what had happened between them? Had they kissed? Fucked? Exchanged hand jobs? Yuuri felt far too hot and sick to his stomach as he thought about. It was so damn embarrassing and he didn’t know how the hell he could ask Victor what had happened as that was even more humiliating if that was at all possible.

Taking deep gulfs of breath, Yuuri tried to reason. He was still in his boxer briefs and he didn’t feel sticky so he assumed that they had not had sex. Which was a relief. As Yuuri _did_ want to remember his first time considering he’d waiting so many damn years. But it didn’t produce much relief. Not when Victor returned with a glass of water and pills and sat beside him, looking down at him with pity.

“I had to stay. I was worried you might choke on your own vomit,” he said matter-of-factly.

Yuuri spluttered out an apology but Victor only smiled. “No… don’t worry. We had a fun night.”

Taking another deep breath, Yuuri moved to sit so he could lean against the headboard of his bed and he took the water glass with slightly shaking fingers.

“Drink slowly at first.”

Yuuri made a “hmm” noise and then took a few sips. Victor then offered some pills which Yuuri didn’t question and popped with another two mouthfuls of water. Once he had nearly finished half the glass, Yuuri felt ever so slightly better. Not much but enough to start to figure out what the hell had happened.

Looking over to Victor, Yuuri could see he was wearing one of Yuuri’s own shirts with most of the buttons undone and briefs. He stared at this and then realised he was staring at turned his attention to the floor beside his bed. The floor that showed some of the signs of his drunkenness as there was a bucket (empty thankfully) and most of his clothes strewn. He _really_ hoped that Victor hadn’t cleaned up his vomit. Though he didn’t dare ask that either.

He remembered the meal and the wine. That part had been fine. Yet it had all gone wrong when they had started drinking champagne and Yuuri was trying to recall what had happened after that. It came back in snatches as he rubbed at his sore head.

There were bars and there were shots and there had been music that pulsed through the air. Yuuri had danced with Victor – close, hot and with hands touching one another. When Yuuri thought about it, he felt a heat in his stomach that radiated throughout his whole body and he found a tingle of arousal despite his embarrassment at his drunken behaviour.

They had almost kissed on the dance floor, lips ghosting across one another but Yuuri had backed off just before anything happened.  Or at least he had at that point. He didn’t know whether he had been as controlled later on in the evening when even more alcohol had been consumed.

As then he remembered the karaoke and he grimaced at the memory of his singing. It had been horrendous, he was sure, and he was positive that customers would’ve hated his wailing. Yet Victor had smiled at him, nodded his encouragement and done a small dance to the song. Some love song. And Yuuri had completed it by removing his suit jacket dramatically and throwing his jacket toward Victor. He wasn’t sure why he’d done that – not sure whether it was some romantic gesture or some symbol of giving up his old life to Victor. He was sure it wasn’t symbolic. He had been too drunk for that.

“How are you feeling?” Victor asked, his voice low and calm.

Yuuri looked towards him, saw him laid out on his bed flicking through his phone as though this was a _normal_ situation. Which it was nothing of the sort. And Victor’s casualness suggested a closeness of lovers. Which Yuuri was pretty sure they were not…

“Okay,” he said meekly, “though I need to ask… did we…?”

The words hung between them and Victor’s eyes were furrowed in confusion for a second. “Oh. You want to know whether we fucked?”

Yuuri felt his face turn red again and he felt like throwing up into the bucket beside his bed but he didn’t. He only looked blankly at Victor as his whole body got incredibly hot.

“No,” Victor replied.

Relief flooded Yuuri. He honestly found Victor attractive and had enjoyed the parts of the evening that he could remember but Yuuri did not want to have some fling prior to leaving and going back home. He could admire the length of Victor’s legs, the smoothness of his skin and the way his whole body exuded a confidence that Yuuri had never had but that did not mean he wanted sex. Or anything from the man who was going to be taking over his job.

He had no attachment to Barcelona. He didn’t care about his career. Yuuri was able to leave it all behind without caring and move on as he hadn’t made any connections. And he didn’t want to make one now. At least the sober version of Yuuri didn’t.

“No… but that wasn’t for a lack of trying,” Victor said with a chuckle.

“What-?”

“Here. Maybe you should see the pictures and videos from last night while I shower.”

Victor threw the phone into Yuuri’s lap and then he slipped off the shirt (Yuuri’s shirt, damn it!) as he walked over to the bathroom. Horrified, Yuuri stared at the phone and then back towards Victor was who now fully naked. And despite the embarrassment and the fear of what he would encounter when he looked at the phone, Yuuri couldn’t help but admire the curves of Victor ass as he walked away.

As soon as Victor had disappeared and he was alone, Yuuri downed the rest of the water and put the glass aside. With trembling fingers, he reached for the phone and decided it was best to find out what had happened last night even if he died of embarrassment. Which could  _quite_ possibly happen.


	5. Day Six (continued...)

Yuuri’s fingers were still trembling when he picked up the phone and held it in his hand. He was holding it as though it might blow up in his face like it was some sort of explosive device. Which it was, Yuuri supposed, in a metaphorical way. As the contents were life-changing to Yuuri. As after all, he might actually die of humiliation.

It was bad enough that he remembered the dancing that had turned indecent as they swayed together in the neon lights. And the out of tune karoke that had been sung with a bravado that usually Yuuri did not have. But there was more. As apparently he had been handsy at the very least and at worse, he had probably thrown himself at Victor.

He couldn’t do. Yuuri couldn’t watch and remember his behaviour and continue to work alongside Victor for the next three weeks. He had two choices: watch and ask for an earlier leaving date from Christophe citing the fact he had already taught Victor everything he needed to know. Or he could not watch it and be in blissful ignorance of whatever inappropriate things he had done. Least then he might be able to look Victor in the eye. Yet Victor would know and Yuuri would not and what if Victor told other’s. Especially someone like his obnoxious assistant. He couldn’t bare that idea.

No. He had to see. So Yuuri flicked his thumb and found the camera roll without another moment of hesitation. As more hesitation would just delay the inevitable.

He scrolled up quickly, blurring the end of the evening so that he could see it in sequence rather than seeing the horrifying end first. He wanted to track his behaviour (and alcohol consumption) so he started at the beginning, finding the images of early in the night and at the intimate and romantic restaurant.

Victor hadn’t got out his phone until the desserts so Yuuri was already glassy-eyed in those first images. Though he didn’t look like a drunken mess. He looked a little rumpled, a little red in the cheeks but he wasn’t too _bad._ So he scrolled on.

He could see the first few bars and he could see that he had lost his tie and a few buttons of his shirt had come undone. Which seemed to increase in quantity the more bars they visited. There were only a few selfies from the club they had danced at and Yuuri was glad of that as he did remember grinding up against Victor indecently. He didn’t need to see _that_ when the memory was mortifying enough.

Then there was the karaoke and a video as evidence. He pressed play and tried not to groan at the sight of himself. Yuuri couldn’t handle the video and so stopped it before he tried to sink into the mattress forever and never re-appear. It should be illegal to video karaoke, Yuuri reasoned, as surely the one singing needed to think they were good in order to perform and seeing the evidence that they weren’t was somewhat crushing. And cringe-worthy.

Yet despite the fact he hated seeing even the grainy still of his musical performance, Yuuri did not want to flick onwards. As they were heading into what he couldn’t recall and that was more scary than the bad singing he could remember.

Yuuri could hear Victor in his shower and he tried not to get distracted by that image. It seemed like he was wasting an opportunity to lose his virginity with a very sexy and confident man in the large two person shower that he had never previously shared with anyone. Yet he couldn’t move despite the fact the world had stopped spinning since the water and pills. As he needed to _know._

And when he flicked and saw that first image of the next portion of the night, memories assaulted Yuuri like a freight train, almost taking his breath away at the jittering images in his head.

“Damn,” he murmured, the room starting to spin again and his stomach lurching.

He remembered. Not all of it. But now he remembered the strip club.

Yuuri had never been to a strip club. It had been something he had prided himself on considering he worked in the often problematic business sector where meetings could take place in front of women gyrating. Yet now he couldn’t say that. He supposed at least it hadn’t been women dancing. As Victor had taken him to a male club and Yuuri had been drunk enough to enjoy it without a second thought.

As he looked at the pictures, it was clear he had enjoyed it very much. They were drinking fruity cocktails by that point, evidenced in the pictures of them holding them up and smiling in photographs that were taken by someone else’s hand. Yuuri had lost his jacket (at the karaoke bar) and his buttons were undone so far that his abs were nearly visible. He wasn’t sure why he’d done that but he noted that Victor’s shirt was undone fully at that point, a white vest underneath with the shirt hanging over it. The vest clung to Victor’s body and Yuuri couldn’t help admiring that despite the whole humiliating situation.

Flicking onwards, Yuuri saw a dancer in his lap, a very attractive young man who was dressed like a police officer for some random purpose. Though “dressed” was perhaps the wrong term. As the man wore a hat, a belt and a jock-strap. It really _wasn’t_ dressed.

He could see that he had enjoyed the attention. As instead of looking as embarrassed as sober Yuuri felt, drunk Yuuri was prepared to just gaze and admire the body grinding in front of him. Victor was clearly taking these pictures as one featured him taking a selfie in front of the display and holding a peace sign. It really was ridiculous.

“What did I do…?” Yuuri mumbled as he was sure there was more.

“You danced for me,” Victor said and Yuuri looked up to see a gloriously wet and mostly naked Victor pad across the floor of his bedroom and join him on the bed.

“Danced?” Yuuri spluttered.

“You got up on the stage and danced. You were hanging off the pole and beckoning me to join you,” Victor said, leaning close to Yuuri so that he could flick on the images.

Yuuri closed his eyes and smelt his own shampoo and shower gel on Victor’s skin. It smelled different, fresher, and Yuuri wanted to lean into damp skin and sniff. Yet he stopped himself. For one it was weird. And for another, there was some photographic evidence of him hanging off the pole. He had lost his trousers mid-way through the sequence and was dancing in just a barely done up shirt and black boxer briefs.

“Oh god…”

“No… you were good. Everyone enjoyed your show… just a good thing Christophe and his husband were there to pay the club owner as we took over the night.”

That sentence nearly made Yuuri combust and his eyes and mouth flew open. His _boss_ had been there. And seen his behaviour. It was a good thing he was leaving his job so soon as there was no way that Yuuri could work in that office again. If he’d not been going home, he would’ve asked to transfer to the most remote place possible. Antarctica. He’d just have the penguins to keep him company if that was the right one… he always got it mixed up whether they lived in the South or North Pole.

At least he was going home. At least he was going to work in his family business and live a quiet life. He kept repeating the manta as he saw the next few pictures.

Victor had joined him.

“Well, I couldn’t let you dance alone, could I?” Victor said, a mischievous look on his face.

Apparently not. As they danced together, both of them using the pole in underwear and shirts. Yuuri saw the looks they gave one another, there was lust and desire in their eyes and Yuuri really did wonder why they hadn’t fucked. They looked good together, limbs tangled, hands entwined and despite the overwhelming embarrassment, Yuuri couldn’t help feeling a flash of desire deep in his gut.

Victor took the phone then, picking it out of Yuuri’s hands. Yuuri took the opportunity to flop down flat on his back on the bed and look up at the ceiling, his heart beating way too fast and his face hot. He felt exhausted. A different kind of exhausted and he could see Victor flicking through his phone out of the corner of his eye.

“That was the last of it. I had to bring you home. You could barely remember where you lived and I worried you’d be sick so I got you in a taxi and brought you here. I planned on leaving you but you were sick… and I couldn’t do that. So I stayed.”

Yuuri swallowed. “Did I… do anything inappropriate?” he squeaked out, his voice barely audible.

“No. You begged me to take your virginity at one point but then you vomited on my shoes and I opted to just put you to bed.”

Groaning, Yuuri turned over onto his side so that he couldn’t see Victor and closed his eyes tight so that the whole night would disappear and no longer exist. It didn’t though. Victor sighed and then Yuuri felt him leave the bed, obviously in search of his clothes wherever they had ended up. Deciding he couldn’t deal with it anymore, Yuuri pulled the covers up of his bed and hid in them, intending to do that like some child until Victor had left his apartment.

That, of course, didn’t work. As Victor pulled the soft quilt away and touched gently at Yuuri’s face, stroking at his cheek. He knelt down beside the bed so that their faces were level and Yuuri opened his eyes to see Victor smiling at him.

“I think it shows you need to have more fun, Yuuri.”

With those words, Victor brushed aside Yuuri’s hair where it had stuck to his forehead after losing its slicked back style and brushed his lips over his skin. It felt like a whisper, a wish, a promise and Yuuri held his breath as it happened.

“I’ll let myself out. See you Monday.”

There was nothing else to say.  Yuuri watched as Victor left, his suit dishevelled but elegant, and his stride confident and sexy. Cringing, Yuuri curled up into a ball, making himself as small as possible and tried to forget about the night where he had danced with Victor and begged him to fuck him.

“Have a little dignity next time, Yuuri,” he said to himself with a sad sigh.


	6. Day Eight

Yuuri had tried to forget his drunken escapades for the rest of his weekend. Yet however hard he tried to ignore those memories, they kept coming back to him in flashes that made him want to hide forever in his bed and never get out. But he didn’t. Instead he spent the weekend packing up boxes, going to the gym and generally keeping himself busy so he did not think about Victor. Especially not about the kiss on his forehead or the demands Yuuri had made in his inebriated state.

There was a part of Yuuri that did not want to go into the office under any circumstance. It was the same part that had never wanted to go to school after some embarrassment the previous day. Though in those days he had his mother to ensure he went, virtually kicking him out of the door so that he attended. Yuuri did not have his mother in Barcelona. So he forced himself with all the determination he could muster. After all, only Victor and Christophe would know what had happened on the fateful evening. And so no one else could judge him.

Or so Yuuri thought. Or hoped.

As per usual since he had handed in his resignation, Yuuri went to work in the coffee shop on the bottom floor and turned on the company laptop to look at his emails. There were plenty generic ones that had been sent to all the colleagues of the company from various departments which Yuuri deleted without hesitation. He didn’t care how the North American wing of the company was performing. Nor the South East Asian part. It wasn’t his job to care anymore and it was relief for him. But there was one email that stood out through all the junk.

It was from Victor.

_To my dance partner,_

_Care to visit my office for a lunch meeting today? I have plenty to discuss with you._

_V x_

Yuuri looked at it and bristled at the use of “my office” as it was _still_ technically Yuuri’s despite the fact he had been thrown out last week. Then there was the fact Victor had called Yuuri his “dance partner” as though that was an acceptable term of endearment. It was an evening that Yuuri was trying to forget yet Victor was already making that impossible. He leaned forward and laid his head on the keyboard of his laptop, not daring to even contemplate what the little “x” at the end of the email had meant. Was it a kiss? If it was a kiss, it was a kiss on work email account which was thoroughly unprofessional. And if it was a kiss… did that mean that Victor wanted to kiss him again? Yuuri tried not to think about kissing Victor as his cheeks flushed and his stomach flipped. As after all, he had begged Victor to take his virginity.

“Hey Yuuri! Tired from your busy weekend?”

Yuuri jerked up from his current position pillowed on his laptop keyboard and looked up to see Phichit had joined him at the usual table, a big smile on his assistants face. A horrible feeling surfaced in Yuuri’s gut. Did Phichit know _anything_? Yuuri could just cope with the idea that Victor and Christophe knew his humiliation. Christophe was his boss, Victor was taking over his job but Phichit had been a loyal subordinate to Yuuri and he didn’t want him to know…

“What? Did you hear something?” Yuuri asked, his heart beating far too fast in his chest.

“No… I just thought you were going to busy packing.”

Sighing, Yuuri nodded. “It was quite busy,” he said with a small smile, “lot’s to do.”

They didn’t speak anymore during the next hours as Yuuri sat and deleted emails as it was all his addled brain could cope with. He tried to forget about Victor and the email as he sat and worked through all the messages he had accumulated in the years but the boredom of the task made it inevitable that he kept flicking it open and contemplating what it said. Eventually Yuuri decided it would be best to keep Victor’s email open as it was distracting to keep finding it, so he did so and debated how to respond.

He should respond. Yuuri knew that. He should confirm that he _did_ want to go for lunch with him. Or he could come up with some excuse and avoid the encounter. Whatever, Yuuri needed to figure out what to do.

As he sat contemplating his reply, he realised one important thing that made the lunch date unavoidable. Victor had called it a “lunch meeting” which made it sound  work-related or at least it was an attempt by Victor to make it seem work-related. It didn’t matter if it was a meeting or not. Yuuri was still an employee and was still being paid despite his complete uselessness to the company during his notice period. So he did reply.

_I’ll be there at 12.15pm. I need to meet Christophe prior to our meeting._

_Yuuri._

It had taken an inordinate amount of time to produce the brief email and he scanned it multiple times for typos or for anything that was unprofessional. He worried that Victor’s seemingly trademarked attitude would have rubbed off on him but his own words seemed innocuous and neutral. Exactly how Yuuri wanted it to seem.

He audibly sighed as he pressed the “send” button and Phichit looked up from his own laptop and never-ending job search.

“Something hard?”

Yuuri looked up and wondered if it was some kind of inneuendo but then he saw the innocent looking concern on Phichit’s face.

“Just had a write a difficult email.”

That difficult email was responded to immediately.

_Wonderful._

_V x_

Infuriated, Yuuri glared at Victor’s email and then slammed down the laptop screen, unable to look at Victor’s casualness.

“I need to go see Christophe,” he announced, packing his laptop into the bag without his usual care.

Phichit nodded and mouthed “okay” and returned to his own job search as Yuuri walked away with long purposeful strides to the elevator to go up to the floor he had worked on for so many years.

The elevator “pinged” as it reached Yuuri’s floor and he strode out, his head held high as he walked past the rows of desk in the open plan office. Christophe’s office was the corner office and was located just down a short corridor from Yuuri’s so it meant his walk was through the maze of desks of the lower ranking employees. Yuuri could swear that people were staring at him as he walked in a way that made him feel like he was under a spot light. He felt like he had suddenly become an exotic and unusual animal who everyone wanted to stare at and observe. No one had really noticed Yuuri before or bothered him. Maybe Victor _h_ _ad_ shared the story of his pole dancing and stripping…

He would be furious if he had.

Outside Christophe’s office sat a young man at a metallic desk who was the longest serving assistant that Christophe had had since Yuuri had worked in Barcelona. Christophe had been notorious for not keeping his assistants for long and a steady succession of young and attractive men had sat outside of his office. There were rumours that Christophe was inappropriate, which he could be, but nothing ever went further than rumours. He was the boss and married, after all.

It seemed even if Christophe was inappropriate with his latest assistant, it didn’t work. Otabek was a serious and stoic young who was very serious about his job and was seemingly impervious to Christophe’s handsiness or at the very least, he wasn’t bothered by it.

“Can I see Christophe?” Yuuri asked when he arrived at Otabek’s desk.

“Do you have an appointment?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes at the blunt response. As the door to Christophe’s desk was glass, Yuuri could see Christophe was not in another meeting or taking an important phone call. In fact, he appeared to be napping. It wasn’t that Christophe wasn’t a hard worker – just that he kept odd hours and worked late nights and weekends. He caught up on sleep when he could and sometimes that meant in his office chair at his desk.

“He’s not busy,” Yuuri responded, his head gesturing towards the glass door, “can you buzz him?”

“He does not want to be disturbed except for an emergency.”

Blunt as always, Otabek barely batted an eyelid at Yuuri’s growing impatience. Yuuri sighed, dropped his laptop beside Otabek’s desk and marched the short distance towards Christophe’s office. There was no time for Otabek to do anything and Yuuri was in the office before he had even left his own seat.

Christophe woke up with a start, his lolling head suddenly upright and he rubbed his eyes as he became alert to the scenario. “Ahh, I wondered how long it would be until you visited.”

Otabek opened the door and was dismissed with a nod. “Take a seat, Yuuri.”

Yuuri did and he watched as Christophe got up from his seat and walked over to a small fridge that was filled with drinks. “Water?” he offered. “I don’t think you’d want anything stronger after Friday evening.”

“Water is fine,” Yuuri responded, cutting off Christophe’s chuckle at his behaviour.

The bottle handed over, Yuuri opened it and took a sip as Christophe stretched his limbs before taking his own seat. Once Christophe was sat, Yuuri decided to ask what he wanted to ask.

“I want to leave early. Victor does not want to participate in a hand-over of my work and there is nothing for me to do.”

Christophe laughed, his hands rubbing at the stubble that dotted his chin. “You want to leave because you humiliated yourself in front of Victor, right?”

“No!” Yuuri shouted, his voice louder than he intended. “I’m no use to you or the company… I’m all packed up. I’m ready to leave. Victor knows what he’s doing. You don’t need me.”

“Hmm,” Christophe said and he casually sat back in his chair, his hands behind his head, “no.”

“But-!”

“No – you still are employed by us. Just because you drank a little too much does not mean the contract you signed is void. Plus Victor _does_ need you to train him. He needed to settle in last week. This week you’ll be able to share your client information…I heard you were joining him for a lunch meeting today, right?”

Yuuri nodded dumbly. He was unused to Christophe acting like the “boss” and he was slightly taken back by it. As after all, Yuuri had signed multiple contracts and had spent hours with Christophe and the Human Resources department so he knew what he had signed.

“Good. You’ll work together fine… after all, he wanted the transfer here and hoped to work with you after meeting you at the party all those years ago. A little drunken fun is not going to ruin your working relationship, brief as it will be.”

“Victor… wanted to work with me?” Yuuri stammered, his words falling from his lips as he tried to remember the party that Christophe was referencing.

He didn’t remember meeting Victor before… he only remembered a few drunken parties in the early days of his time in Barcelona.

“Yeah… you obviously impressed him at the company party. Go impress him again. You’ll make us regret we let you go!”

With a laugh, Christophe walked to behind Yuuri and put a hand on his shoulder to indicate that this conversation was done. Yuuri had so much to ask – far too much to ask – yet he found himself going through the motions and leaving the office as Christophe directed. Before he truly realised what had happened, he was stood opposite Otabek who looked at him with his usual disinterest.

“I hear you make a good pole dancer.”

Tempted as he was to say something childish in return, Yuuri didn’t. He only picked up his laptop and shrugged. “I’ve heard that too.”

 


	7. Day Eight (continued..)

It seemed Victor’s assistant had been banished from lying around in the office as he was now sat outside at the desk that Phichit had used to occupy when he was Yuuri’s assistant. He did not look particularly happy at this outcome though Yuuri wasn’t sure if he was _ever_ happy even though he had only spent a limited time in the blonds company. He had a fixed sour expression and a stand-offish air that didn’t endear him. He was very different to Victor. Though Yuuri supposed that Victor probably needed someone to be harsher to people than he was himself if he was ever to get work done.

“I’m here for the lunch meeting,” Yuuri said as he stood next to the desk.

The assistant had not even looked up and instead was focused on the screen in front of his eyes. He looked bored and Yuuri coughed to get his attention – assuming that he had not heard him speak.

It was then he noticed the small name plaque placed in the middle of the desk. A gold plaque with glittered writing on it. The made Yuuri take a second glance. As the assistants name was Yuri Plisetsky.

“Your name is Yuri?” Yuuri mumbled, more to himself than to anyone, yet his dumb question got the attention of the assistant.

“Yeah,” he snapped and he pointed to the plaque with the tip of his pen, “you _can_ read, can’t you?”

“You _can_ listen, can’t you?” Yuuri shot back, surprising himself with the speed of his witty comeback. “I asked about whether Victor was ready for our lunch meeting.”

Yuri seemed to grit his teeth at Yuuri quick wit and he flicked his hair back from his face. “He’s ready for you,” he replied, annoyance in his tone, “we’ve been preparing for most of the morning.”

Puzzled by both the effort on Victor’s part and the way such a blatantly rude and grumpy person could be an assistant to anybody, Yuuri left his name counterpart to silently seethe as he walked the few steps to his old office.

Yuuri had been thinking of the office as still his in a vague way but that had stopped now. It was Victor’s and there was no point on holding onto the possessiveness in his head as it didn’t really matter. He heard that Yuri had actually buzzed through to Victor, his accent drawl both bored and annoyed at the same time. Due to the rare act of professionalism on Yuri’s part, Yuuri was able to enter the office without knocking and as soon as he walked through he was surprised by the vision he saw and the smell that suddenly filled his nostrils.

It smelled like _home._ A smell that made Yuuri’s stomach growl and nostalgic fill all of his senses. He remembered his mother and father. He remembered the hot springs. He remembered cold weather and skating and the ocean… He suddenly felt closer to home that he had for years and it made him ache once again to see his family once again.,

“I did some research,” Victor explained as he waved his hands towards the food that was taking up _most_ of the surface of the very large desk. “I found a good Japanese restaurant in the area and I ordered some food. Phichit mentioned in passing that Katsudon is your favourite.”

Yuuri nodded and looked at the spread of food. There was more than enough to feed a family – never mind the two of them.  

“It’s too much,” Yuuri said, a blush reddening his cheeks.

“It’s an apology. I think we need to start again, on the right foot this time.”

Victor was smiling as he walked to one of the plush chairs and pulled it out for Yuuri making it suddenly seem much less like a lunch meeting and much more like a date.  That was helped as Victor didn’t sit in his usual office chair opposite him, instead, he sat alongside him so that they were close enough for their knees to touch if they so wanted.

“You didn’t have to -” Yuuri started but was interrupted.

“No, I do. I perhaps have been a little inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate?”

“I got you drunk. I’ve been rude to you and not accepted your advice or help. It’s all a big change for me – I perhaps have not handled it as well as I would like.”

“I drank too much,” Yuuri admitted, “that was me. Not you.”

“Ah well, I certainly encouraged at the very least,” Victor said, cocking his head and smiling and then he waved his arm towards the food. “Go ahead. Help yourself.”

Yuuri did – tasting all the dishes he missed from home. He had cooked for himself in Barcelona but he had tended to eat basically and simply – a series of bland flavours that he barely remembered. Yet these dishes tasted _almost_ like he remembered. They were not quite the same as his mother’s but then Yuuri figured that no one’s cooking could compare to your own mother’s cooking. It must be a thing that was tied to memories and nostalgia as much as taste.

Victor had never had Katsudon and proclaimed it delicious.

“My mother’s is even better,” Yuuri revealed to which the answer was an arch of eyebrow from Victor.

“Maybe I will need to visit you when you return home.”

Yuuri, his mouth full of rice and deep fried pork, only managed a nod in response. He was sure Victor was only being polite but it still made him feel a little embarrassed. Victor was used to a life of luxury – he was pretty sure he had heard he was the son of a rich Oligarch – he was sure he would not be accustomed to the sort of rooms that his parents had for guests.

They ate as much food as they possibly could and Yuuri was stuffed more than he had in years. He had denied himself plenty, kept himself fit so indulging in good food with good company was a novelty. And he thanked Victor numerous times, profusely, and Victor only waved Yuuri’s words away. It had been a very pleasant lunch, only soured slightly when the grumpy Yuri was asked to take away the leftovers to the staff shared kitchen which he did so grudgingly.

“Please write a sign from me that anyone can help themselves!” Victor said to which he received a grunt in response. Yuuri wondered if that would happen with Yuri’s attitude but Victor didn’t seem to mind his assistants insubordination. He guessed there was something he was missing. Maybe he would ask before he left to satisfy his curiosity.  

The desk cleared it was time for the “meeting” part of the lunch meeting and Yuuri felt full and content and uninspired to discuss work. Yet it seemed they weren’t _exactly_ going to discuss work.

“Do you remember me?” Victor asked, his eyes narrowed on Yuuri’s face to read his reaction.

Yuuri didn’t know what to say. As after all, if this was what Christophe was referring to as well, then Yuuri did not remember any of it. And that was very disheartening.

“It’s okay,” Victor continued, “you had just started your job. You had just arrived recently in Barcelona. It was one of those company parties where everyone had to attend to ‘improve relations’ between colleagues around the world.  We talked. We got a little drunk. We kissed -”

“We kissed?” Yuuri gasped, his voice a little higher than usual due to shock.

“It was… quite the evening, much like Friday… but you left. You got in a cab and left. I wondered if I’d said anything to offend you but I figured you were just feeling like you had drunk too much and needed some sleep.”

Victor was smiling as he studied the various mortified expressions on Yuuri’s face. He _really_ was never drinking again. As it obviously did him no good.

“I attended numerous parties after that, hoping we would meet again. But you never attended. It was disappointing… But I moved on. So when I was offered a job in Barcelona, I was curious and decided to take the leap. I did not realise it was _your_ job I was taking. And when it was clear that you didn’t remember me, my plan was to get you drunk again so perhaps you would remember our conversations and our kiss.”

Blinking, Yuuri tried to summon a response for Victor’s revelations. And take in the consequences of his drunken behaviour. Yet it all felt familiar despite his black hole of a memory and all the blank spots that seemed to occur around Victor.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said finally, shrugging his shoulders, “for not remembering you.”

Victor waved his hand as he had done before and flicked his hair back so that it was away from his piercing eyes. “It’s okay. I can be a romantic fool. It’s a fault of mine. I took a job due to a few conversations and some drunken fumbling.”

Yuuri was about to reply when the office phone rang and Victor offered an apologetic smile at the interruption. “Excuse me.”

In truth, Yuuri was glad of the interruption as he was losing his composure yet again. He felt flustered and he wished he had not eaten quite as much as his stomach was fluttering uncomfortably. Victor spoke softly over the phone and Yuuri looked around the room trying not to pry into Victor’s conversation. When the conversation was finished, Victor sighed and ran fingers through his hair.

“I’ll have to cut this meeting short. I’ve been asked to be a part of a presentation to investors by Christophe. They’re Russian – he wants to surprise them with some of their own language.”

“I understand,” Yuuri replied and he got to his feet, the butterflies beginning to calm in his stomach.

Though they only calmed for a moment as a sudden impulse overwhelmed him and Yuuri spoke before he had really thought about what he was saying.

“But we could continue this tomorrow evening at my apartment?”

Victor looked delighted at Yuuri’s invitation and nodded enthusiastically. “I could be there at 7?”

“Perfect,” Yuuri replied, swiftly departing as he instantly regretted his impulsive action.

As he really needed to think about what he said and did around Victor _before_ the fact. He _really_ did.


	8. Day Nine

Everything Yuuri did to prepare for his guest had taken far too much thought and it had taken an inordinate amount of time to make any decisions. He had to decide whether to serve alcohol due to his previous performances, whether to move some of his boxes and make his apartment appear less cluttered, whether to cook or order in, whether he should dress casually…

All the different options seemed to create a haze that made making any firm choices impossible. Yet eventually Yuuri managed to make his decisions but once they were made, he debated whether he had made the wrong one over and over again in his head.

He ordered in food as his kitchen equipment had already been packaged up neatly and he did not want to open up all the boxes to find what he needed. He opted for no alcohol as he did not want any potential embarrassment and it was a work evening. He didn’t move any of the boxes of his belongings – after all, Yuuri was about to leave this apartment and some packing boxes were to be expected. But choosing what to wear had been the most challenging of all the decisions.

It was not as though it was a date – though Yuuri supposed it _almost_ was. It was only the two of them and there would be food and conversation. Which was very date-like in most contexts. However, despite the fact it was like a date, Yuuri wanted to be casual. It was _his_ space for once, the place where he was in control unlike the office and as he was on home territory, Yuuri wanted to be comfortable.

He went for casual elegance – he didn’t put his contacts in and he wore a loose white shirt over loose fitting beige trousers with his feet bare as he walked over the cool wooden floors and the plush of the rugs he had added to the décor for a hint of luxury and warmth.

Yuuri felt comfortable, in control, or at least he did until the buzzer interrupted him and he jumped at the interruption to his meandering thoughts. He suddenly worried that his clothing was less casual elegance and more dishevelled but he did not have time to change. As there was Victor on the small video screen and Yuuri let him into the building.

As he waited for Victor to arrive at his door, Yuuri fussed at his hair and tucked in his shirt yet realised that looked worse and returned to his previous look. He didn’t have time for such a pointless effort as moments later there was a rap of knuckles against the door and he opened it to see a true vision of what casual elegance looked like.

Victor had always been “dressed up” when Yuuri had seen him so this casual Victor was somewhat startling. He wore a soft cashmere black knitted sweater with a deep v-neck that exposed pale and taut skin and what Yuuri could only describe as designer sweatpants in a charcoal grey that fitted tightly but comfortably. He held two bottles in his hands which he raised up so that Yuuri could see the labels.

“Don’t worry – nothing alcoholic,” Victor said with a wink, “are you going to invite me in?”

“Oh,” Yuuri replied realising he had been gawping at Victor rather than being a polite host, “come in. Ignore the boxes.”

Victor didn’t seem to care at all about the state of his apartment and Yuuri had to remember that Victor was already familiar with the place. As much as Yuuri tried to forget about their fateful Friday evening, Victor had already spent one evening in his apartment, used Yuuri’s shower and probably discovered what little food that Yuuri kept in his fridge. It made Yuuri feel a little off-kilter as though the balance between them wasn’t quite right. But then that was how he always felt around Victor. He had always been on the back foot.

Victor made his way to the kitchen without guidance and placed the bottles down. Yuuri had left out glasses and Victor poured the sparkly fruit cordial and handed a glass to Yuuri as though he was the host.

“Cheers,” Victor said with a smile.

“Cheers.”

Yuuri honestly tried not to be so damn awkward around Victor but he was finding it particularly difficult. He was on edge as he waited for the food to be delivered and that unease didn’t cease when it was. It provided a distraction, the paella from a recommended local restaurant (Phichit’s advice yet again) but Yuuri found eating it difficult. It was delicious, the fish fresh and the spices perfect, but Yuuri only picked at the dish and spent his time awkwardly moving around to sit more comfortably on the floor. As they had to sit on the floor with the food balanced on the coffee table. It felt a bit like home but it was mainly due to the fact that Yuuri no longer had a dining table, it having been sold some weeks ago.

Victor talked as they ate and Yuuri mainly nodded and “hmm’d”. He was only listening a little and it was when Victor started talking about elephants being carried by eagles did he realise that he was agreeing to nonsense.

“Sorry,” Yuuri replied, a blush staining his cheeks yet again.

“Preoccupied?” Victor teased, the fork in his fingertips.

Yuuri shook his head side to side. “No… just…”

“I make you nervous, don’t I?” Victor said, his voice low.

His wits weren’t quick enough around Victor to deny it and his blushing face was evidence enough - Yuuri could only nod and admit how he felt.

“I feel at a disadvantage around you. You remember our first meeting. I don’t. I feel as you hold all of the cards and I have nothing. I don’t even remember that we kissed.”

Victor set down the fork and pushed his plate away before he shuffled closer to where Yuuri sat. They were close yet not quite touching and Yuuri was given some space to back away if needed.

“Do you want a more memorable kiss?” Victor asked, his voice low and seductive.

Yuuri thought of the reasons they shouldn’t kiss – that they were work colleagues and it was unprofessional, that Yuuri was leaving for home so any romantic relationship was pointless but the reasons died on Yuuri’s lips. As it was only a kiss.

Just a kiss.

They were not going to fall in love. They were not going to have wild, passionate sex. Victor was not going to claim Yuuri’s virginity in some perfect romantic moment. All they were going to do was lock lips. And this time Yuuri was sober and he would remember it in the morning.

Victor was close enough for Yuuri to see his eyelashes flutter and to notice how the moisture on his lips lingered after he swiped his tongue across them. It was too easy to lean those last few inches, bridge the divide and Yuuri forgot about uneaten food and moved in, his head cocking to his left side.

Yuuri tried to remember those teenage experiences with girls back home yet this felt entirely different. His teenage kisses seemed like pretending. This suddenly felt very real and adult.

The first press of lips was tentative, a scant touch that felt like a whisper. It was brief but very different to those home town girls. Victor’s lips were less soft and they didn’t taste like lip-gloss and the scent of overpowering perfume did not make him feel sick. He smelled of something clean and masculine that Yuuri couldn’t define yet he wanted to get closer to that scent and Victor’s body.

Instinctively, Yuuri shifted his body closer and kissed at Victor’s lips again, and again, little pecks until he experimentally flicked a tongue and this move changed the whole dynamic of their encounter.

Victor took that as permission – a sign that Yuuri wanted more. He had not pressed or moved during Yuuri’s explorations and he had let Yuuri be as unsure and hesitant as he needed to be. Yet now Victor reached out and brushed Yuuri’s cheek gently and Yuuri leaned into that touch, gasping against Victor’s lips as he felt a hand touch at his upper thigh, stroking his flesh through the thin fabric. Victor used Yuuri’s gasp as an opportunity to deepen the kiss and thrust his tongue past Yuuri’s parted lips.

Without thought, Yuuri leaned back, his hand instinctively holding on Victor’s arm, and they crashed to the floor together in a jumble of limbs yet they did not stop their kiss. Their lips moved together, sloppy and hurried and very needy. Their tongues swirled and slid, moans and gasps reverberating between their mouths as the heat between them increased.

It was suddenly not “just a kiss” and the hesitancy Yuuri had felt evaporated as Victor pinned him to the floor, the solid weight of his body making Yuuri buck up instinctively. He wanted more or at least his body wanted more. His cock was growing hard and his whole body was hot as he surrendered to the intoxicating feel of Victor over him, touching him, kissing him…

He moaned loudly as Victor bit at his lip and Yuuri’s body jerked enough to feel that Victor was firm and hard in an area that indicated to Yuuri he too was wanting to take this further. Victor kissed at Yuuri’s neck, nibbled and sucked at the skin of his throat and Yuuri grabbed for his silvery hair and threaded his fingers through, feeling the silkiness of it between his fingertips.

Yuuri briefly thought about how inexperienced he was. That he’d never even given another guy a handjob never mind anything else and he felt desperate to feel how Victor’s cock would fit in his hand. Would it feel soft and firm as he stroked? How would Victor like him to touch him? Yuuri wanted to lick at the tip of Victor’s dick, taste the pre-cum…

“Victor…” he groaned out as a hand rubbed at his crotch and teeth worried at skin.

It was too much… too quick and Yuuri was drowning in the erotic tension between them. Yet it was halted unceremoniously and with some relief on Yuuri’s part. As Victor’s phone was buzzing on the coffee table, loud and obnoxiously, and he lifted his head up from his kissing and nipping at Yuuri’s throat to lean his forehead against Yuuri’s own.

“I instructed Yuri to only call tonight if it was something urgent…I should check.”

Yuuri managed a nod, his lips feeling swollen from the force of their kisses. Victor brushed his lips across Yuuri’s forehead before he crawled off his body to answer the phone. With shaking hands, Yuuri propped himself up and took a few deep breaths to calm his boiling blood. Yet as he listened and saw Victor reactions to the call, the heat in his body disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

“I have to go… Yuri is in the hospital.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Yuuri asked.

Victor nodded. “Please.”

And with a few calls and a flurry of activity, they were leaving Yuuri’s apartment as speedily as they could and on their way to the hospital in a taxi to find out what the hell had happened to Yuri.


	9. Day Ten

It was just after 1.00am when Yuuri went in search of coffee. The waiting room had been like any other hospital waiting room that Yuuri had ever been in – the same expressions of those waiting anxiously for news of their loved one. Yuuri knew that he barely knew Victor’s assistant and all that he did know of him was that he was rude but that did not matter. Not when Yuri was in the hospital badly beaten.

It had been difficult to ascertain what had happened at first as the reports were garbled but for all intents and purposes, it appeared that Yuri had got into a fight with some English football fans who were in Barcelona for a Champions League match and that Yuri had ended up coming out of the fight worse off.

Initially it had been difficult to even confirm that Yuri was in the hospital as they were not related in anyway and the staff were unwilling to pass on any information unless they could prove some sort of relationship to him. That was when Victor had got particularly insistent and Christophe had been called.

After that they had been allowed to see Yuri, briefly, asleep and bruised, before being ushered out by doctors. Now they were just waiting.

Yuuri knew that there would be no decent coffee available at the late (or early) hour so his only option was the machine that churned out a very unappetising cup of brown liquid. But it would do. As that was all he _could_ do,

He returned to what had become “their” spot in the waiting room with the steaming plastic cups to see Victor was slumped forward, his head clasped in his hands and his face covered so Yuuri could not see his expression.

“Victor?” Yuuri asked and Victor sat back up then and wiped swiftly at his eyes.

There were no traces of tears, not that Yuuri could, but it was clear that Victor was exhausted.

“Coffee.”

“Thank you, Yuuri,” Victor replied, taking the cup from Yuuri’s fingertips carefully.

Yuuri took his seat back beside Victor and had an experimental sip of his drink. It was vile and bitter but it was warm and had at least some caffeine in it so Yuuri drank it to stave off at least some of the tiredness that was beginning to overwhelm his body.

“Not for the coffee. I’m grateful for you staying with me. It means a lot.”

Yuuri shrugged. “I have nowhere else to be.”

“You could be in bed rather than sat here on some uncomfortable chair.”

“It wouldn’t be as much fun without you,” Yuuri replied, surprising himself with his own wittiness and forwardness. It was obviously the lack of sleep hysteria that was kicking or the strength of the machine coffee that made his tongue loosen.

Victor laughed. “True.”

They sat for a while in silence as they finished their horrible coffees, clock watching as the digital numbers took far too long to change. Yuuri tried to focus on other things – those trying to sleep, those listening to music or those trying to read newspapers but he did not want to stare for too long as he didn’t want to intrude on other people’s fears and anxieties. So he ended up just stealing glances at Victor from the corner of his eye.

Victor was sat back on the chair, his eyes closed and his pose relaxed with his legs extended out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. He looked calm. At peace. But while Yuuri did not know Victor well yet, he knew him well enough to feel the tension underneath Victor’s cool exterior.

“Yuri is not just your assistant, is he?” Yuuri asked after a while, hoping that conversation would distract Victor from his thoughts.

“You’re very perceptive,” Victor said and then sighed before he began his short tale. “I knew Yuri’s grandfather. He lived in my neighbourhood and was a friend of my father’s. Yuri’s parents had died when he was very young and he had been raised by his grandfather as he had no one else left. He grew up to be a troublesome teen. A punk. Caused fights in the neighbourhood for no good reason. His grandfather was worried that Yuri would end up in prison and he was aware that I had made something of myself so out of the blue he called me and asked whether there was any way I could give Yuri a job.” Victor laughed softly at the memory. “I couldn’t just get him a job. I got him an unpaid internship and let him stay with me in Moscow. I discovered that he had stopped causing so many fights and was a capable young man. His internship became a job as my assistant and it appeared he had grown out of his rebellious nature. But… his grandfather died recently and that why I insisted that he came with me when I transferred here. I think that’s why perhaps he would start a fight again. He was always such an angry young man… and to lose the one thing that he had left…”

“That’s…” Yuuri started as he tried to find the words. It was awful. Sad.

“Don’t ever tell Yuri that you know his past. It is a story he holds close to his heart and it does not need to be known by anyone else.”

Yuuri nodded as he suddenly understood more about his namesake, the other Yuri. He had merely labelled him rude and unhelpful but there was more to it than that. He obviously used his façade to hide his actual feelings. Yuuri could empathise with that as he had focused all his energy on his work to avoid thinking and feeling. Yuri just used his bad attitude to hide his emotions and make it impossible for anyone to see the real him.

“He probably went looking for trouble last night,” Victor said as though he was talking through a theory, “Yuri will always be a punk at heart.”

The next hours dragged painfully but Yuuri did manage to drift off to sleep a few times, jerking awake moments later with dribble running down his chin. Victor sat in the same relaxed pose with his eyes closed and legs and arms crossed, barely moving. Yuuri was sure he never dropped off to sleep but it was difficult to tell.

It wasn’t until 7.00am that something more concrete was discovered and they were allowed to visit Yuri once again. A doctor had spoken to Victor and through a combination of lip reading and listening _very_ hard, Yuuri could figure out that there was nothing serious or life changing. There was a broken arm but Yuri had survived the beating without any long-term damage. Yuuri remained seating during this conversation and did not intend to visit the patient but Victor insisted he come with him. He felt odd as he had only met Yuri a handful of times and they were hardly the most friendly of encounters but then Yuuri wondered if it was more for Victor’s benefit than anything else that he went with him to the hospital room.

Yuri’s eyes were closed, rimmed by bruises, but he was sucking at an ice cube in his mouth which indicated he was awake. 

“Yuri,” Victor said and the blonds eyes fluttered open as much as they could in response.

“Victor…”

“Are you okay?”

Yuri grunted in affirmation and that was when Victor began speaking in a quick angry tone. And in Russian. Yuuri did not understand the words, but he understood the sentiment. Anger. Fear. And then more anger. Yuri seemed to shrink further into the bed as though he was trying to hide in the thin white sheets.

Once Victor was done, Yuri said one word which Yuuri guessed was an apology as Victor’s response to that word was to kiss his forehead.

“Get some rest. I’ll be back later.”

With those words, Victor departed and Yuuri followed dumbly behind, not quite sure what he should do. The sun was bright when they left the hospital and Yuuri realised quite how exhausted he felt as the sun hurt his eyes and all the noises of the city in the morning were grating on his mostly shot nerves.

They didn’t discuss getting a taxi, Victor only called one over and they got in, Yuuri pliable in his tired state. When they arrived at Yuuri’s apartment, there was no conversation about Victor joining him. They only went in together.

And there were no questions between them when they stripped out of their grubby rumpled clothes into their underwear. They only ended up in Yuuri’s bed, mostly naked and with stinging sleep deprived eyes.

Victor spooned Yuuri, the presence solid and reassuring. Though Yuuri was pretty sure the comfort was needed more by Victor than himself. Comfortable, secure and beyond tired, Yuuri knew it would not be long before he fell into a deep sleep despite the sunlight streaming through the window.

And it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is http://miss-m-muses.tumblr.com/ if you want to flail and discuss Victuuri.


	10. Day 10 (continued)

When Yuuri woke up he was far too hot and in his initially groggy state, he could not figure out why. He also had not been woken by the irritating buzz of his phone alarm and that was confusing too.

As Yuuri opened his eyes he saw it was dark in his bedroom. Very dark. And that confused him once again. Yet something else was even more confusing than the darkness and the lack of alarm and the warmth. And that was the sound of someone else’s heavy breathing close by.

It was then Yuuri remembered. He turned over to see that the unusual level of warmth was created by the other body in his bed. The other body being Victor Nikiforov.

He remembered the previous day in flashes. The kiss. The waiting room. Yuri Plisetsky bruised in a hospital bed. The boring work day prior to all those events…

Work.

Yuuri scrambled for his phone as it was most likely that they had missed a whole day of work without informing Christophe. Yuuri had never done that before. He had always followed policy and procedure. And he had barely had more than a day’s sickness in his whole time working for the company. Despite the fact that Yuuri was leaving very soon, he still cared and he did not want his otherwise unblemished record stained by an indiscretion that was not of his own making.

Finally, Yuuri managed to retrieve the phone and he saw the awful truth. It was 7.18 pm. It wasn’t even just the middle of the night. It was evening. A whole day had been slept away. How had he slept so long and peacefully? Yuuri hadn’t done that in years. Not since he had been home… Had Victor’s presence been so soothing that all his fears, his insecurities and anxieties had faded? Yuuri did not want to think about that right now as all he needed to do was call Christophe and apologise.

Yet while he would usually expect missed calls and voicemails if he had been absent for work unexplained, there was nothing to indicate he had been missed at work. Yuuri suddenly wondered if anyone cared at _all_ now that he was leaving.

“Don’t worry,” said Victor, stirring and wriggling in the sheets, “I contacted Christophe and he knows where you are.”

Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief and laid back. The initial panic gone made Yuuri realise a few things – he needed to pee and he needed to eat – two things he had missed in his coma-like sleep. As much as a part of him wanted to remain in bed with Victor, his body’s demands were taking precedence and he climbed out of bed. His first task was completed easily – the second would not be so easy as he was sure there was no food in his fridge or cupboards.

Yet when he padded out of the bathroom after he had stared at himself for far too long in the mirror (and tried to tame his hair without resorting to gel), he heard noises from the vicinity of the kitchen and Yuuri walked that way to find Victor there. And Victor was not without food as there were open pizza boxes on the counter.

“I ordered pizza while you slept. I just didn’t think you’d sleep for _quite_ that long. It needs re-heating.”

Victor was accomplishing that task, the pizza warming up in the oven as he poured glasses of water for them, handing one to Yuuri as though they were in fact in Victor’s apartment and not Yuuri’s. It already felt like Victor belonged in Yuuri’s home.

“How’s Yuri?” he asked after he had took a long sip of cool water, chugging half the glass down without breath.

“He’ll live,” Victor said with a sigh, “he’s feeling a little foolish now… I visited him a few hours ago and he was bored of the hospital already.”

“You visited him?” Yuuri asked, his mind boggling about how Victor could leave _and_ come back without waking him. He really hadn’t slept that well since he’d been in his childhood bedroom, in _his_ bed.

“Yes. I tried to wake you but you muttered something about pigeons pecking at your feet and I thought it better that I leave you be. You looked adorable.”

Shaking his head was the only thing Yuuri could do as it hid the blush from being called “adorable” and also cleared the brain fog that seemed to envelope him when he was around Victor. He decided to find the two plates that were not boxed as the smell of pizza was beginning to waft around the apartment and Yuuri’s stomach growled in response.

Victor served up the pizza, using his fingers and trying not to burn himself as Yuuri wasn’t sure where a lot of his kitchen utensils were. Once the plates were loaded, they went to sit on the floor and eat as they had done the previous evening.

Their “date night” now seemed a million years ago for more than one reason. Of course, there was the horrible reality of Yuri in a hospital bed but there was this new comfort that they both seemed to have around one another that emotional trauma had brought. They were only wearing underwear and baggy t-shirt as though this was normal and they had been together forever and they were used to each other’s mostly naked bodies.

Victor was wearing one of Yuuri’s shirts and it looked _right._ It did not look odd or sexual – it just looked like it belonged to Victor. And the more Yuuri thought, it seemed like Victor was already ingratiating himself into his life in many ways. As though there was something easy about them together, as though they were _meant_ to be together.

The thought stopped Yuuri from eating, his pizza slice limp in his fingertips. He was confused as to why he felt something for Victor but he knew that he really shouldn’t let himself feel anything for him. As their time was brief and Yuuri did not need to fall in love and break his own heart when he returned home.

There was a very real part of Yuuri that wanted to stay in Barcelona with Victor and live a life where they were together. A fantastical, beautiful version of reality. But there was another part of Yuuri that desired his home, for his feet to walk familiar streets and to sleep under his parents roof. And as much as he liked Victor, it was not the right time to be thinking about romance. It would only be a fling and that felt particularly pointless to Yuuri.

“When are you going home?” Yuuri asked, the insensitivity of the question becoming apparent as it left his lips. He hadn’t intended it to sound harsh – just a curiosity that Yuuri felt so that he knew what was happening in the next few days.

“Sick of me already?” Victor replied, a look of shock or hurt quickly covered by a smooth smirk.

“No,” Yuuri said, his arms flailing to show he hadn’t meant what he had said in the way it had come out, “I -”

Victor winked but it looked less natural than it usually would have. “I’ve overstayed my welcome. You need to pack and prepare for going home. Not to be entertaining a guest and dealing with the on-going drama of his rebellious assistant.”

Yuuri tried to protest, tried to say that he enjoyed Victor’s company and that he wanted him to stay but Victor was set on a course to leave, picking up all of his belongings with a flourish that was almost like a pirouette. Following in his wake, Yuuri felt clumsy and stupid, ineffectual at even the most basic of relationship skills.

In the bedroom, Victor stripped out of Yuuri’s clothes, discarding them onto the bed and Yuuri admired the muscles of his back before it once again was covered. It was very noticeable that Victor had turned away from Yuuri. And Yuuri really did not know how to correct the situation of soothe the hurt he had seemingly caused.

But maybe, just maybe, he did not want to soothe the hurt. Yuuri did not need to fall in love. Not now. Maybe through his own emotional incompetence he had done what he needed to do – which was to stop whatever was happening between him and Victor before it became something more.

That thought provided no comfort. As Yuuri did not want to hurt Victor. Not even if it made things easier.

Once Victor was dressed, he flashed a winning smile and winked in Yuuri’s direction. “I’ll see you at work.”

The mention of “work” made Yuuri feel heavy – as though he had swallowed a ball of lead. He didn’t want to think about work. In fact, all he wanted to do was reverse time to that evening where they had kissed and Yuuri had felt more alive than ever.

Yet waiting and wishing never achieved anything and Victor didn’t offer a kiss when he left. And all Yuuri offered was a feeble goodbye as he watched Victor leave.

Yuuri did not know what to do now he was alone in his own apartment. It suddenly seemed too, too much and it did not feel like a home at all. It felt like a relic of a home, now adored with boxes and without any personal touch.

Not feeling tired from his day of sleep, Yuuri sorted the rest of his belongings and threw away the remains of the pizza as he tried to eradicate the memory of Victor being in his apartment. He threw away the shirt Victor had borrowed and was about to attack the bed and change the sheets when he stopped, a sadness filling his whole body that made his breath seem to rattle in his chest.

They had not had sex in that bed but what they had done felt more intimate and meaningful. With a weary body, Yuuri climbed in and hid in the mass of covers, smelling Victor’s scent on the pillows as he tried to cling onto the memory of Victor’s lips on his even as the memory was already beginning to fade.


	11. Day Twelve

Yuuri had made himself a new job around the office. Which was to discover the all the random secrets of the office building before he left. It had been something suggested by a website when he had been Googling for ways to relieve his boredom as the last few weeks of his notice period rolled on and so with a new found determination, Yuuri went exploring.

It was a distraction, not the best one, but it was a distraction nonetheless. Other ideas had been to write a novel (which Yuuri had no good ideas for) or to learn a new language (which Yuuri had no concentration at present to learn more than the two he already knew) and so exploring had seemed the best decision. He had discovered plenty of curiosities since he began his search.

There was a whole unfinished floor, number 54, and it featured white plastic sheets suspended where the work had been abandoned with only the shell of the office partitions begun. Obviously, whoever had been intending to move into the floor had run out of money midway through the renovations and had been forced to pull out of the move and call it quits. Yuuri found the unfinished floor somewhat creepy, not helped by visiting on a gloomy day when the afternoon light struggled to pierce through the large plastic and tape covered windows. He didn’t linger on that floor long.

Yuuri was more lucky with another discovery. There was a floor which compromised of the offices of a large multi-national marketing company and this led to something more fun. He was offered free samples of products – some candy, some fruit flavoured fizzy drink, a new type of chewing gum – and then ended up being involved in some market research. This discovery was going to help him survive his last weeks and he intended to keep visiting to “help them” and also to aid his attempts to distract himself.

Though perhaps the best discovery was the office buildings roof space and the small tranquil garden that had been planted there. It had gone a little to ruin that indicated it had been forgotten about. Yuuri wondered if the original architect had designed it yet no one from the offices below were aware of its existence.

It provided incredible views and Yuuri felt as though he was only now able to appreciate the scale and beauty of the city he had lived in for the last three years. The city he was no longer going to live in soon.

He had not seen Victor since the fateful night at Yuuri’s apartment. He had used Phichit to find out how Yuri was doing and he discovered that he had been discharged from the hospital and was convalescing at Victor’s home. There were to be no criminal charges and it made Yuuri sad wondered if Victor had been right – that Yuri had sought out the fight to ease the grief he was feeling. Which made him sympathise all over again with Yuri despite their somewhat fractious relationship so far.

Yuuri debated about sending flowers and a “get well soon” card to Yuri but doubted whether the blond would appreciate the gesture so he opted not to waste the money. Plus he was avoiding Victor and showing kindness towards his assistant might re-open the door that Yuuri had so clumsily closed.

Yuuri knew, deep down, he was being childish. That really he needed to explain, like an adult, to Victor that he had not meant to upset him and he that he was not very good at relationships due to his limited experience. Also that he was an idiot and worried about starting anything romantic so close to the date that he was leaving Barcelona. Yet Yuuri did not have the courage. So distracting himself and hiding were his only options – pathetic as they were.

The Friday afternoon of the second week of Yuuri’s notice period marked an _almost_ half way point in his trauma and Yuuri debated about actually visiting his own companies offices to see if there were any weekend parties or activities planned. He needed a distraction and a night out with colleagues would provide that. Yuuri had never usually bothered with company events, only in the very beginning did he attend and he was aware that had led to his meeting with Victor that he could not recall, but he no longer saw any harm in joining in. Not when he was sure that his recent drunken escapades were well known by every employee. He had little dignity left.

As he took the elevator down from his current moping spot (a large bathroom on the 37th floor), Yuuri schooled his features into a neutral expression that he could show to even Victor if they so happened to meet. If he saw Victor, Yuuri would be polite, he would ask about Yuri and he would check he was okay but he did not need a plan for meeting Victor. As Victor was not there.

In fact, Yuuri soon discovered that very few people were in the office. And one of those few was Otabek.

“Victor has not been in since Yuri’s injuries. Many other staff are at a conference. Christophe has left early for the day.”

Obatek spoke in such a monotone way that Yuuri didn’t see the point in continuing the conversation. Especially when he had reported everything that Yuuri needed to know in such a short space of time. So he said thanks and walked down the corridor to what had been his own office and visit the desk of his namesake.

While the chair behind Yuri Plisetsky’s desk was empty, the desk had been filled with unopened cards, flowers and beautifully wrapped gifts for his return. It made Yuuri feel particularly guilty about his behaviour. He had hurt Victor at a time when he had _really_ needed Yuuri’s support. It wasn’t as though Yuuri was unaware of the responsibility he felt towards his assistant. It wasn’t a working relationship, it was something akin to family and Yuuri had acted like an… idiot.

Yuuri looked around to determine if anyone was around and noted that Otabek had left his desk. With no one else around, Yuuri snuck into what had been his office, compelled to find out something about Victor that may aid in making his apology. 

He didn’t turn on the light and the dying afternoon light bathed the office in a more gentle light than the harsh strips above. It made the gold glint lazily and everything looked more elegant than gaudy.

It was then he noticed something he had not seen before. Or maybe they had not been there before. As there was now a series of photo frames on Victor’s desk.

Slowly and quietly, Yuuri walked around to Victor’s large chair and sat down so that he could view the images. Carefully, he reached for them and picked them up for a closer look. They were a lot of Victor and Yuri together and the impression of them being family became more and more apparent. And there were plenty of Victor and his dog. But the one that intrigued Yuuri most of all was the one of Victor ice skating, wrapped up warm at an outdoor rink in what looked like a Christmas market, twinkling lights and stalls in the background. The image made Yuuri remember how it felt to be on the ice, to be at his home rink, closed for the evening so there was only him there, as he was free and alone on the ice…

And he vaguely remembered that night oh so long ago… had he talked with Victor about ice skating? Yuuri thought they had as a hazy memory seemed to surface of champagne and a conversation about home…

Yuuri tried to leave all the photographs as they had been, not wanting to make it obvious he had been snooping, yet he couldn’t help smiling as he put back the picture of Victor ice skating. As it had given him an idea. And a way to apologise to Victor.

He left Victor’s office and the building entirely, not caring if anyone saw his early departure as after all, they couldn’t fire him now. He walked home slowly, the plan forming in his head and his walk was _almost_ like a skip as he thought of how he was going to invite Victor out. He would go to the market and buy fresh flowers and have them delivered to his apartment with a note…

“Damn,” Yuuri cursed.

There was a problem with that plan. Yuuri didn’t know where Victor lived. So he decided on a little less romantic version of his plan. Once he arrived home, Yuuri turned on his laptop and did his research, checking the times and making his booking. That task completed, he picked up his phone and tried to decide what to message Victor. He opted for simple if not slightly cryptic instructions. For Victor to meet him, at 2.30pm, at a particular address.

_Why? What do you have planned?  V x_

Yuuri only smirked at the message on his screen.

_Wait and see. Y xx._

As Victor would have to wait. At least until tomorrow.


	12. Day Thirteen

A part of Yuuri wondered if Victor would show up. He wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. After all, Yuuri was an idiot and the other Yuri probably required help to move around still. But despite his doubts, Yuuri still felt nervous as he always did when it came to Victor. He stood in the shadow of the football stadium, his hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

Yuuri felt a little wired as he had barely slept the previous evening as when he had fallen asleep, he had ended up jerking himself awake with a pounding heart and a dry mouth. He was never _quite_ sure what he had been dreaming about but he could guess they involved Victor as the response had also been accompanied by an erection tenting his sleep shorts.

To combat the lack of sleep Yuuri had drunk coffee. A lot of coffee. And the caffeine content of said coffee only seemed to increase his anxiety and turn his body into a ball of nervous energy. His palms were sweaty as he waited and his heart felt like it was hammering in his chest but those nervous responses did not abate. Especially not when he saw the silver shock of hair that indicated Victor _had_ turned up.

Victor waved and smiled when he spotted Yuuri, confidently walking over to the spot in the shadows where Yuuri had decided to stand. The sunlight made Victor’s hair glisten and Yuuri couldn’t help but admire the beautifully fitted trench coat that Victor wore as he approached.

“We’re not going to watch football, are we?” Victor asked once he was in speaking distance, his voice full of tease and humour.

Yuuri shook his head. “No, I have something else in mind.”

He led the way, following the signs that were all over the stadium area until it became clear where they were headed. It wasn’t as though Yuuri could hide his “date” idea anymore. Not when there was an Olympic sized ice skating rink in front of them.

“I haven’t skated for a long time…,” Victor said as they walked towards the entrance, “I loved it as a boy.”

Yuuri smiled. “I know… It’s been a while for me, too.”

Once they had arrived at the reception, the boring part of the activity had to be completed. Skates were borrowed with a deposit placed on them and Yuuri wished he had his own skates in Barcelona rather than the ones that had been used by so many other pairs of feet. They also signed waivers to confirm they wouldn’t sue if either of them were injured. They laughed over the waivers but signed them to the relief of the harassed girl behind the counter. It seemed it was a regular occurrence that people got annoyed at signing the piece of paper they required for their records.

Those tasks done, they walked over to the locker area near the ice and stripped out of their outer layers of clothing. Yuuri didn’t have his usual skating attire in Barcelona, another thing he hadn’t thought he needed, so he opted instead for some black jeans and a long sleeved black top. He had packed gloves for both of them in his bag and he offered a pair to Victor who obviously had not been aware of Yuuri’s intentions. Thankfully, Victor had dressed in something that could be described as smart/casual – charcoal jeans and a navy cashmere sweater. It wasn’t out of place on the ice.

The final task was the ice skates and Yuuri smiled as he looked at them. They were nowhere near as nice as his own skates (and they had been used by multiple people before him) but he still felt a giddy child-like excitement as he thought about what it would be like to be back on the ice.

“How’s Yuri?” he asked as laced up the skates.

Victor made a noise. “Bored and annoying. I’m grateful for the invite as it gets me away from him! Otabek is looking after him to give me a break. He used to Christophe so Yuri will seem easy by comparison.”

Yuuri laughed. “And perhaps less handsy.”

Victor flashed a winning smile. “Very true… shall we?”

With a flick of his wrist, Victor gestured towards the ice and Yuuri nodded in agreement. He was ready for the ice and oh, how he’d missed it. Yuuri tried to remember what it felt like to be free to skate as he pleased and how it had felt to be _good_ and compete. It all seemed like memories from another life. Yet once he was on the ice, it didn’t feel so far away. Not anymore. It felt natural, like breathing and Yuuri was suddenly hit with the nostalgic memories of a thousand hours as he glided around the rink.

The rink was Olympic sized and some area was roped off for the professional hockey team. The other areas, though, were open for amateurs and on a Saturday afternoon there were families and young couples on the ice. All Yuuri could think as he propelled himself forward was how he glad he was at having seen the pictures on Victor’s desk. Otherwise he would not have remembered their shared love of skating and he wouldn’t have been able to come up with an “apology date” idea.

Yuuri twirled and looked to see Victor who just as at ease on the ice as he was. And when Victor noticed Yuuri watching, he did an exaggerated twist, his arms gracefully moving with his motions.

They skated, they raced, they twirled and Yuuri felt his heart soar for the first time in years. He remembered how it had been his home as a child and a teen – his hideaway and escape and he realised how much he had missed that moment he could take flight from reality.

He kept glancing at Victor and at times their hands were touch and hold and in those moments Yuuri felt tingles up his spine.

Yet despite the fun they were having, the session soon ended and they were back changing out of their skates and getting their belongings out of the locker. They both were breathing slightly harder than usual, a light sheen of sweat on their brows as they changed back into their more boring shoes.

“How did you know I skated?” Victor asked .

“I saw the picture of you and Yuri on your desk. I thought this was a good way of apologising. And I have something else…”

Yuuri felt a little embarrassed as he fumbled with the zip on his backpack to procure the item within. Another of his internet purchasing ideas had arrived by courier that very morning and Yuuri had packed it in his bag despite the fact he wasn’t sure if he was going to give the gift to Victor. Yet he decided he better as after all, he had bought the stuffed animal. It was a gift and not something Yuuri needed to keep for himself. He brought out the brown stuffed poodle toy that looked remarkably like the real dog that had jumped at him and offered it to Victor.

“I am… not good at relationships,” Yuuri said as he presented the gift, a blush covering his cheeks, “I’m incompetent at… whatever this is. And I’m sorry I hurt you when you needed help and support.”

Victor smiled as he took the gift – a warm open smile that wasn’t smug or humorous. Just warm. Genuine.  “I guessed that you perhaps were not so good… at things like this. I perhaps acted a little dramatically, too, though. It’s part of my nature.” Victor studied the plush in his hands. “This looks just like Makkachin did when he was a puppy.”

Then tension between them once again lifted and Yuuri’s heart was fluttering wildly in his chest. His mouth was dry and he wasn’t sure what to say. All he knew was that he wanted to kiss Victor though his mouth felt far too dry to try that…

“… or we could go to my apartment. You can see Yuri. Then we can decide on dinner plans.”

Yuuri realised he had not been listening to the first part of whatever Victor was saying as he was focusing on his lips but he conceded that the suggestion of visiting Victor’s apartment was a good one. And he did want to wish Yuri well.

Together they left the rink and made their way to a taxi. With Victor usual flair, a taxi approached quickly, and they were soon sat together in the back of a cab that drove through the streets of the city. It seemed Victor was pleased with his gift as he cradled it in his lap as they got stuck in traffic, the typical mid-day rush making it near impossible to navigate the streets.

Once they were near enough to Victor’s apartment, he paid the drive and Victor declared they would walk the rest of the day as it was a beautiful day. Yuuri didn’t mind that as they walked side by side, their hands brushing one another as they strode through the city. As they walked, Yuuri realised he was an idiot to try and pretend that he didn’t feel an attraction to Victor. As he wasn’t just gorgeous – Victor was _beautiful._ And that made Yuuri feel like it was an impossible dream that Victor was interested in _him._ But he was. And Yuuri could not let the opportunity slip by despite the fact his departure was looming ever closer.

They arrived at Victor’s apartment building and Yuuri was not at all surprised to discover that Victor had rented or bought the penthouse apartment. It seemed appropriate – a large floor full of windows with its own private elevator up to the apartment. It was exclusive, expensive and everything that Yuuri would expect of Victor. Yet there was _something_ unexpected that Yuuri saw when he walked into Victor’s apartment.

It wasn’t the grand piano the dominated one area of the room, or the exquisite and tasteful mix of old and new furniture or the beautiful abstract art that adored the walls. That was all what Yuuri expected.

What _wasn’t_ expected was the moaning and the reason for that moaning. It became apparent as they stepped into the open plan living area that Yuri and Otabek were doing something and a few steps further in, it became very apparent what it was.

On the grey couch, Yuri was sat, his head lolling back against the cushions and his eyes closed as he moaned out expletives and Otabek’s name over and over again. Otabek’s head wasn’t visible from their vantage point but Yuuri was very aware of where it was and that thought created two responses from his body. A blush stained his cheeks and there was a rapid tightening in his underwear.

Victor only grinned at the sight. “We’ll leave you two lovebirds,” he joked.

The response to those words was flailing limbs and apologies as well Otabek’s head to appear from its previous position in Yuri’s lap. Victor was completely unfazed, told them to have fun (but nothing too strenuous) and he ushered Yuuri back out of the building.

Once outside Victor laughed loudly. “That’s why he wasn’t angry about having a babysitter. Though it means we should find somewhere else to go… I know a nice bistro around the corner.”

Victor started to walk and then paused when he realised Yuuri had not followed. It wasn’t that Yuuri didn’t want to follow, of course he did, but then he wanted something else. Something _more_. The image of Yuri and Otabek was spinning around his head and he couldn’t resist Victor when he stood, his face adorably confused.

Taking initiative he rarely took, Yuuri marched forward and pressed his lips awkwardly at first to Victor’s. Surprised by Yuuri’s intent, Victor was initially stiff in his arms but as soon as he realised it was a kiss, he relaxed and opened his mouth, allowing Yuuri’s tongue to flick and twirl. As much as Yuuri wanted to kiss the life out of Victor, he had to breathe and so he backed off for a second so he could whisper words.

“I want to go somewhere… private.”

If Victor was surprised at Yuuri’s forthrightness, he didn’t show it, only pressed a quick peck to Yuuri’s still moist lips.

“I know a hotel.”

“Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will there be smut next chapter... maybe for the next two chapters *evil laugh*


	13. Day Thirteen (continued...)

It should’ve been a new sleek and modern hotel that Victor picked. Or at least that had been what Yuuri expected. But instead the hotel was small, boutique, _exclusive_ with art on the wall and champagne already waiting for them on arrival. It was intimate, different and in a way it was appropriate despite being not what Yuuri expected of Victor. Maybe that proved another thing that Yuuri found so fascinating about Victor – that he was unexpected and surprising and so much more than Yuuri thought.

For a moment, Yuuri wondered if he had done the right thing in his reckless haste. Yet then he remembered Yuri’s moans, his heart was hammering so damn hard in his chest that Yuuri had to do this. So he swallowed thickly and approached Victor.

Victor was already walking over to the champagne bottle when Yuuri grabbed for his arm and pulled Victor towards him. The kiss was impatient and sloppy but perfect and Yuuri pressed his hips forward, their groins bumping together and their tongues slipping together as their teeth nearly clattered together There was no finesse. None of Victor’s experience and control. There was only want and need and _desire._

It felt different from their first kiss (or the kiss that Yuuri actually remembered in his apartment). Hotter, more desperate and soon they were fumbling at one another’s clothes, buttons and zips becoming far too cumbersome as scarves and coats descended to the floor.

Yuuri’s cock was already hard, straining against his jeans and he found his hips unconsciously jerking against Victor’s, demanding friction even though he didn’t just want that pitiful friction – he wanted more – touch, and taste and the grinding was not quite enough.

Taking a breath, Yuuri found his head lolling back as Victor kissed at his neck, the feel of warm breath on sensitive skin making Yuuri moan and shiver.

“What do you want Yuuri?” Victor asked as he dragged his lips up to Yuuri’s ear, whispering seductively as he worried at the lobe between his teeth. “Do you want me to touch you?”

Yuuri moaned out his approval to Victor’s plan. He wanted Victor to touch him – really he wanted more than that but he felt ridiculous articulating that. That he wanted what Otabek was doing to Yuri back in Victor’s apartment. That he wanted to be fucked by Victor and feel what it was like to have someone above him, inside him… yet he didn’t say that to Victor. All Yuuri did was gasp as Victor reached his hand down to Yuuri’s groin and rubbed his hand against the bulge he found there.

“You certainly want something Yuuri. I can feel you.”

With sure fingers, Victor reached for the zipper and teased it down as he nipped at Yuuri’s throat. Yuuri wondered if Victor had been a vampire in a previous life – he had an affinity for neck kisses but Yuuri couldn’t deny it was a turn on.

Victor reached for Yuuri’s cock through the thin material of his cotton underwear, rubbing at the front with his thumb and teasing the head of Yuuri’s cock through the fabric. There had been damp patch there already just from their grinding and kissing.

“Victor,” Yuuri moaned and Victor chuckled.

“Say my name like that again.”

Yuuri moaned out another Victor as the hand reached into his boxer briefs, Victor’s hand grasping his cock and squeezing lightly. Victor stroked from base to tip in a slow measured move and teased his fingertips over the slick head of Yuuri’s cock.

“What do you want, Yuuri? A hand job? My hand jerking you off until you come all over your clothes… or do you want more? Do you want me to suck your cock, take it in my mouth and swallow until you come? Or should I fuck you? Have you underneath me as I ram my dick into you over and over and _over_ again…”

The dirty talk was _not_ what Yuuri expected of Victor but then he had not really been sure what he had really expected from him in the intimate situation they were currently in. Yet Yuuri could admit readily that the dirty talk turned him on, made his knees feel weak and his whole body shudder. He wanted it all. Everything that Victor could give him. Yet right now it was difficult to convey that as all his blood had rushed from his brain to his cock.

“Your… mouth…” he mumbled out, embarrassed by his own straightforward command.

Yes, he wanted Victor’s lips wrapped around his cock but Yuuri couldn’t quite say that. He had never been very good at articulating his own wants and desires and that’s why he had ended up isolated and alone, pursuing a career he did not care for. But right now Yuuri had managed to express his desire even if he was blushing bright red and hadn’t quite explained fully how much he wanted his dick in Victor’s mouth.

“To the bed,” Victor commanded, his tone authoritative and sexy, “I don’t trust you on your feet.”

Neither did Yuuri. His legs felt shakey as he walked over to the bed, his feet seeming to have forgotten how to work. He stumbled and plonked himself down on the bed as he watched as Victor procured the champagne, opening it with a “pop” that sounded louder than it should, a testament to the nerves that Yuuri was feeling as it made him jump. He felt skittish, like an animal caught in the headlights of on-coming car but he was unable and unwilling to move. He wanted _this –_ wanted Victor and his erection, hard and confined, confirmed that.

Victor took a swig of the champagne and walked over to the bed in an almost sashay. He had removed most of his clothes, down to t-shirt and jeans, and Yuuri had to admire the way he looked so confident as walked, his hips swaying unconsciously. Victor’s eyes narrowed and suddenly Yuuri felt like prey and that Victor was the predator, their dichotomy even more noticeable the closer it got to the main event. Victor set aside the bottle after one more swallow and then smirked at Yuuri.

“Lie back. Get comfortable.”

Yuuri was willing to take any instruction – he didn’t want to seem inexperienced and foolish so he felt it was better to just follow Victor’s lead. Victor who was confident, who licked his lips and exuded sexuality. Yuuri had none of that and only made himself comfortable on the plush pillows, resting a hand underneath his head to prop himself up so he could view everything that Victor was going to do to him.

“Relax,” Victor said as he crawled up on the bed.

He was trying. Yuuri was _really_ trying not to tense but it was hard not to. As Yuuri had never done this before and despite his arousal, he found it difficult not to feel embarrassed, especially when Victor’s hands were pulling as his open jeans and hot breath was ghosting across the front of Yuuri’s boxer briefs.

There had been a spot of wetness from the tip of Yuuri’s cock and Victor mouthed at that through the material, the extra feel of fabric against his sensitive dick making Yuuri groan.

It felt like sensory overload. The feel of warmth, of hot wetness and the sight of Victor’s silver haired head in between his legs was too much. Yuuri worried he would come far too quickly but Victor backed off then as if sensing Yuuri’s anxieties.

With a furrowed brow, Victor looked up and met Yuuri’s eyes.

“Are you ready? Is this what you really want?”

Victor wanted Yuuri’s consent and Yuuri could understand why. He had the experience and Yuuri felt completely and utterly naive in comparison. He was certain that Victor did not want to pressure him into anything – evidenced by him taking everything at Yuuri’s pace and ensuring that Yuuri really wanted _this._

“Yes, Victor,” Yuuri replied his voice sounding unfamiliar and hoarse.

“As you wish.”

Yuuri had to close his eyes then as he couldn’t bear to look down at Victor. Maybe it made things better, just feeling, taking it in as he felt breath and light fingertip touches once the annoying restriction of underwear had been removed.

He felt a hand on his hip, holding him firmly but not too hard, and then he felt a mouth suck at the very tip of his cock. Yuuri moaned, his hand in his mouth, biting down on his skin to stop himself from being too loud. He felt his cheeks redden yet again, embarrassed by his own reactions as Victor’s mouth opened wider as he bobbed up and down in Yuuri’s lap.

He opened his eyes to slits to look down and Victor looked up at that very minute. Victor looked debauched with Yuuri’s dick between his lips, saliva glistening on his lips and Victor winked back at Yuuri before he swallowed deeper, the feeling of warm wet heat engulfing his cock.  

It felt different than his hand, oh so different, and he could barely stand the pleasure that was circulating around his body, the centre of which was Victor’s lips dragging up and down his cock. Yuuri could barely think, his whole body shuddering, and he knew that he would not last as long as he could when he masturbated, his usual stamina gone when Victor was doing these things to him.

With a soft, lewd sounding “pop”, Victor sucked hard and then drew back, licking at the head and teasing around the slit of Yuuri’s cock, tasting the pre-cum there.

“I’m…” Yuuri mumbled.

“Close?” Victor asked, his voice lilting and teasing.

“Yeah,” he gasped as Victor bent down then and took him as deep as he could.

The heat, the sensation, made Yuuri lose all semblance of control he had. He jerked his hips up as much as Victor would allow and then Victor _moaned_ around Yuuri’s cock and that was it. The orgasm rocked him to the core, his cock spurting deep into Victor’s throat as his hands tore at the bedsheets.

Spent, exhausted and with his whole body thrumming, Yuuri lay back against the pillows as his breath came out in short ragged pants. The heat of Victor’s mouth left his cock and a moment later Victor was laid beside him, the bottle of champagne somehow in his hand once again.

“I didn’t kill you, did I?” Victor, a mix of concern and humour evident.

“No,” Yuuri replied, his closed eyes opening a little to see the smug self-satisfied look on Victor’s face. “That was… incredible. Amazing…”

Victor laughed and sat up so he could take a long swig of the champagne.

“Do you want…?” Yuuri asked, his voice faltering as he felt Victor’s erection against his own body.

Yuuri was sure he would not compare but he would try. But Victor only laughed and took another sip of the fizzy alcohol.

“Maybe later. Right now, I want to drink. You?”

Victor offered the bottle and Yuuri accepted. There was no point in not drinking now. Not now. And now with Victor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not replying to comments from the last chapter... it was a busy week but I really appreciate them all. And I don't mind being called evil ;-P


	14. Day Fourteen

The rest of Yuuri’s Saturday passed in a daze of indulgence. There were more bottles of champagne and room services and plenty of kissing and touching.

Yuuri, while he did not use his mouth on Victor, he had jerked him off with his hand until Victor was moaning his name. Yuuri decided he liked the way that Victor said his name in the heat of passion.

They ate, they drank and they fell asleep wrapped around one another in way that was comforting and so damn perfect to Yuuri. Too perfect. Even in the haze of pleasure, Yuuri remembered that he was leaving soon but another kiss on the lips from Victor and Yuuri forgot his doubts about what they were doing.

It was Sunday morning when Yuuri was able to think clearly again or at least as clearly as he could where Victor was concerned. He was hungover, exhausted and alone in the hotel room when he woke. There was an initial panic when Yuuri realised that Victor was gone but this panic subsided quickly when he saw a beautifully written note on hotel stationery on the pillow next to him.

_I’ve gone to get breakfast and check on Yuri._

_Back soon._

_V xxx_

Yuuri relaxed into the squishy comfort of the pillow for a few moments. But this relaxation did not last long as he realised he was feeling pretty damn gross and required a shower. With a heavy world- weary body, Yuuri dragged himself to the shower and managed to turn it on after taking a few moments to figure out how it worked. In the shower, Yuuri remembered the events of the previous day and his cheeks reddened as he remembered all that they had done. Yet it became very evident to Yuuri there was something they had not done and Yuuri felt embarrassed and inexperienced as he thought about it.

He was still a virgin. And Yuuri badly wanted to have sex with Victor and finally lose his virginity. It felt right despite their brief time knowing one another and Yuuri cared for Victor deeply. So it seemed right and Yuuri was ready so in preparation, he spent a long time in the shower scrubbing his body so that he was as clean as possible for the event. But then he wasn’t naive enough to be unaware of other things they did need to get his body ready. Yuuri wondered whether Victor would be prepared with all the necessary items but Yuuri was not going to rely on that. Plus he did want to surprise Victor so he needed to form a plan. And the culmination of that plan was Yuuri lying on the bed, naked and waiting, his ass in view as he lay on the pillow – lube and condoms beside him. He liked the idea, liked to think of Victor’s eyes wide and his smile growing as he realised what was about to happen. And Yuuri wanted to make that vision came true. So he needed the supplies, embarrassing as that was.

Yuuri got dressed in yesterday’s rumpled clothes and left the hotel. He tried to get his bearings but Yuuri wasn’t exactly sure where he was. So instead of figuring out directions, Yuuri just stated walking in the most likely directions, looking for some store that was open and might have what he needed.

He should’ve been embarrassed and Yuuri usually would’ve been blushing bright red as he looked for the condoms and lube. Yet Yuuri was focused. He _could_ do this. And he did so with minimal eye contact with the old man behind the counter wishing that he was in a large modern supermarket rather than a small pharmacy store. Least there he would’ve had the relative safety of a self-service checkout.

Purchases in a plain white paper bag, Yuuri returned to the hotel to prepare, a feeling of nervous anticipation boiling underneath his skin. The more Yuuri thought about it, he was less nervous than he expected to be considering the life alerting change. It was more an excitement bubbling below the surface, his stomach flipping rather than a leaden sickness dragging him down.

When Yuuri returned to the room, he was surprised to see that the bed was otherwise occupied. And not by a naked, ready and waiting Victor. Instead, it was covered by fruit and pastries, and bottles of sparkling water ready to be opened.

It was a breakfast spread like Yuuri had only ever seen in glossy magazines or in movies. And despite the fact it looked incredible, Yuuri was not interested in it.

“I brought us breakfast… I wasn’t sure what you liked so I bought everything that I could think of.”

Yuuri shook his head, summoning up the courage he required in order to speak. “I don’t want breakfast,” he said approaching Victor with more confidence than he felt. “I want _you.”_

With slightly shaking hands, he handed over the little white paper bag to Victor, his hands brushing at Victor’s skin. Once he realised what the bag contained, Victor looked up with one raised eyebrow.

“Are you sure, Yuuri?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

Yuuri was trembling ever so slightly, his nerves and anxiety flitting on the surface of his skin but he was ignoring that as he _wanted_ Victor. He wanted his experience, his touch, his body and Yuuri knew he would be safe in Victor’s arms. It wasn’t going to be some random fuck for his first time. It was going to mean something.

“Maybe we should move the pastries,” Victor said, humour in his tone, “we don’t want cream or sugar getting into the wrong places.”

Despite, or in spite, of his nerves Yuuri chuckled and helped remove the breakfast spread. He thought how this wasn’t at _all_ like he planned. He had preferred the more dramatic and sexy introduction to his first attempt at sex but this was fine. Less romantic but it alleviated some of the anxiety he had been feeling.

Once the bed was cleared, Victor wasted no time and Yuuri appreciated that. He had waited long enough. He did not want to wait longer. Clothes were discarded with clumsiness on Yuuri’s part and elegance on Victor’s, the floor a jumble of jeans and coats and shirts. Their bodies aligned as they stood together, hard cocks pressed together and Yuuri jerked his hips against Victor’s, enjoying the sensation of their bodies fitting and sliding together.

Victor’s mouth was talented, Yuuri already knew that, but his fingers were a just as dangerous weapon in Victor’s arsenal of seduction. Those fingertips trailed over Yuuri’s spine, down to the curve of his ass and when he squeezed at his cheeks, spreading them apart in his hands, Yuuri only bucked forward involuntarily. He felt lightheaded, as though his whole body was on fire and when Victor pushed him forward to the bed, Yuuri just followed the lead as he was unable to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do.

“Lay down on your front,” Victor said, his voice low and seductive.

Yuuri complied, the instruction giving him a feeling of security as he moaned from the pleasure of his cock rubbing against the sheets underneath him. He turned his head to the right on the soft pillow and from his vantage he couldn’t see where Victor had gone. He listened, heard footsteps and movement but he wasn’t sure what he was doing. His heart was beating too fast, his cock was throbbing and Yuuri felt hot despite his nakedness. Yet those feelings didn’t subside when he felt the dip in the bed and the touch of Victor’s skin against his own.

“Are you sure, Yuuri? This might hurt a little as it’s your first time…”

“I’m sure, Victor. Please… fuck me…”

“Patience,” Victor said, his fingers feathering across Yuuri’s back, “first I need to prep you. Have you fingered yourself before?”

Biting his lip, Yuuri moaned out a “yes”, barely audible under his breath. As while he had not commonly done so, he had tried it a few times and he was aware what it would feel like. Or at least he knew what a few fingers felt like. Not a cock. Not Victor’s cock.

“Good. Just relax.”

Yuuri tried to relax. He really did. But when Victor’s slick fingers teased at his hole, he tensed and wasn’t able to stop himself from doing that. Victor’s response was to bite at his ass check, the sensation making Yuuri gasp and relaxing him enough to distract from the feeling of Victor’s fingers sliding inside. The bite was licked at by a tongue and Yuuri muffled the sounds of his gasps and moans into the pillow.

The preparation was laboured, thorough and Yuuri just let Victor guide the whole experience. He was trembling when Victor slid three digits inside him, his whole body ready to explode as his cock rubbed helplessly against the mattress underneath. His face was burning, his skin sweating and he felt ready for Victor yet he still had to wait. Or at least a little.

“Onto your knees,” Victor said, his hands gripping at Yuuri’s hips to help him up to the positon he wanted him.

Yuuri obliged, his hands in front of him, his head hanging so that he could see Victor through his own parted legs. Sweat was clotting his hair to his forehead and Yuuri took a deep breath as he felt Victor move to close behind him, his cock nudging at Yuuri’s hole. His arms were shaking slightly but Yuuri felt the strong hold that Victor had on his hips and he only closed his eyes as he felt the push in of Victor dick.

It was slow, tense, and Yuuri held his breath and closed his eyes as he felt the head push in. He moaned out, not sure whether it was pleasure or pain or just _different_ and he just focused on the soothing tone of Victor’s voice and the feel of his fingers against his skin.

“You’re doing well, Yuuri… you feel so _good._ ”

Yuuri couldn’t respond as he felt Victor slide in deeper. He was unable to say anything, his mind unable to articulate exactly what he was feeling and that didn’t matter. As all Yuuri did was _feel._ He could feel Victor deep inside him, pulsing, and he could feel the pressure of fingernails in his skin. And it all felt so good.

“Can I move?” Victor asked, his voice breathless.

“Please…”

Victor moved. At first it was slow smooth increments of his hips, forwards and backwards, and Yuuri found his body instinctively moving back into the body behind him, driving Victor’s cock deeper. Victor was moaning, his dick sliding out and then back in a faster rhythm, his body starting to slam into Yuuri’s. Yuuri could feel the slap of Victor’s balls, the long drag of his cock inside him and he was moaning out expletives in all the languages he knew.

He had waited so damn long for this and Yuuri didn’t regret waiting for Victor. Not when one of Victor’s hands reached for his dripping dick and began to jerk him off in the same pace as the speed of his hips.

The bed was slamming against the wall and Yuuri sincerely hoped they had no neighbours in the adjoining hotel rooms as he knew he was being loud, words spilling from his lips unbidden. His hands were ripping at the sheets, his whole body pushing back into all of Victor’s thrusts and he felt the rumble of his orgasm in his stomach as Victor’s cock drove into him, again and again and _again._

Victor’s thumb traced over the head of his cock, teasing at the pre-cum there and Yuuri couldn’t hold on any longer. He came with thick ropes of cum spurting from his dick into the sheets below. Victor rammed into him, harder, faster, holding onto Yuuri’s hips harshly as he found his own completion, the final jerk of hips indicating that Victor had come.

Unable to hold himself up, Yuuri fell forward onto the sheets, Victor following him to the bed, their bodies still joined. Victor wriggled inside him, still hard before he pulled out to sort the condom. Yuuri could see as he lay on the pillow, his head turned towards Victor but he couldn’t move or do anything. His whole body felt limp but satisfied, a tingly sensation playing across his skin.

“How was that?” Victor asked.

“Incredible… amazing…” Yuuri mumbled, repeating his words from the previous day.

Victor chuckled and kissed at a patch of skin in between Yuuri’s shoulder blades. “I should stay with you forever. You do wonders to my ego.”

Yuuri only smiled into the pillow. As really, right now the idea of forever didn’t seem such a bad one.


	15. Day Fifteen

Monday morning felt like crashing down to earth with a big “bump”. Yuuri still felt in a daze, his whole body still reeling from the feel of Victor over him, in him, kissing him… fucking him. But despite his pleasure filled haze, Yuuri had to act like normal and go into work as he would do any average Monday morning.

When he had woken in the hotel at 6am, he had known his little vacation from reality with Victor was going to be over rapidly. The only clothing he had was two days old and intended for their ice skating date and so he needed to go home before he arrived in work looking obviously dishevelled and with casual clothing. They had said their goodbyes, eaten their leftovers from their bed-bound banquet and gone their separate ways so that they could prepare for work.

Once he was home, Yuuri tried not to dwell on his empty apartment and what that meant. Instead, he went about showering, shaving and dressing with practiced efficiency so that he could be in the office on time.

He wondered how Victor was doing, whether Yuri still had his “guest” at Victor’s apartment and he smiled as he realised how important Victor had become to him even in such a short space of time.

Yuuri had never been one of those workers who disliked Monday mornings and lived for the weekends. He had been too anti-social and dedicated to his work so that Monday morning had never been something that filled him with dread.

Yet today Yuuri _really_ did not want to be in the office. If he was completely honest, he wanted to be in bed with Victor, trying different things like positions and maybe, just maybe Yuuri being on top… yet Yuuri knew that wasn’t an option so he ventured into the office and attempted to look busy.

He knew that he did not have long to go in the office –he was half way through his notice period but instead of feeling glad about his imminent return home, Yuuri felt a little bit conflicted about leaving Victor behind.

Instead of hiding as Yuuri had usually done, Yuuri decided to visit the actual floor he worked on and noted that Yuri had returned to his desk. He looked slightly less bruised than when Yuuri had seen him last, he was obviously starting to heal, and Yuuri was about to approach and talk to him when he heard his name.

“Yuuri! Just the man I wanted to see…!”

Yuuri turned to see Christophe had just arrived into work and was currently removing his leather gloves as Otabek walked behind him, a frothy coffee in his hand.

“Follow me,” Christophe said with a wink and Yuuri nodded, following behind Otabek.

Once inside the office, Christophe handed over gloves and his trench coat to Otabek who had to balance them along with the coffee in his hand. This didn’t seem to faze the assistant, obviously used to his boss and the lack of thanks or acknowledgement he received and he only placed the coffee down on the desk and hung up the coat with no comment and placed the gloves carefully on the shelving unit. That done, Otabek turned on Christophe’s computer and spend a moment checking for messages on his phone.

“Do you want anything, Yuuri? I can send Otabek out for some breakfast.”

Yuuri’s stomach was full from the slightly stale pastries and overripe fruit so he politely declined.

“Just some water would be great, thank you.”

With a nod, Otabek went to get it and Yuuri took a seat opposite Christophe. Yuuri suddenly felt very worried. He had rarely been called into his boss’s office unless it was for a scheduled meeting and so Yuuri wondered if Christophe had discovered one or two things: that he had an inappropriate relationship with Victor or the fact that he had not done any work since he had agreed the terms of his notice period. Yuuri tried not to show any panic on his face at Otabek returned with a glass of ice cold water and placed it down in front of him along with a paper coaster.

“Anything else?” Otabek asked.

“Not at the moment, thank you,” Christophe replied and with that Otabek took his leave.

Once they were alone, Christophe leaned forward and smiled at Yuuri – the smile being a little _too_ happy for Yuuri’s liking.

“How are things, Yuuri?”

Not sure how to answer or how much Christophe knew, Yuuri decided to answer neutrally. “Fine.”

Really, he was better than fine – or at least he had been prior to being summoned by Christophe to his office like a naughty school child. That euphoric feeling had been punctured a little by his current uncertainty.

“Good. I’ve heard from Victor that your training has been excellent and he feels fully prepared to take over you role. I am most grateful for your professionalism during this transition period.”

Yuuri took a long glug of water before he said anything, his mouth feeling dry and his tongue ineffectual. He managed a muffled “thank you” at the praise to which Christophe winked at him in response.

“After discussing the successful transition with the board, we’ve decided to let you leave earlier as you requested. Your leaving date will be Friday and we will amend you final salary in accordance with the days you are no longer employed by us.”

Yuuri was dumbfounded. A week ago, Christophe’s word would’ve filled Yuuri with relief and excitement. He would be going home earlier! But now it only meant one thing – that he would be leaving Victor sooner.

“Here’s your amended contract,” Christophe said as he slid a piece of paper across the desk. “It seems pointless keeping you here when you have done everything and you want to be home so badly.”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Yuuri nodded. There was no reason not to accept – it would be crazy not to as he had nothing to do but Yuuri knew there was one reason to stay. To spend extra time with Victor. Yet now that opportunity was gone. The extra week’s salary meant nothing and he could change his flight time and date without any major costs. Most of his belongings were ready to be shipped so that wasn’t a problem either. The only problem was the hammering in Yuuri’s heart as he looked at the contact in front of him.

“Oh,” Christophe said as though Yuuri’s hesitation was due to something mundane and boring, “here’s a pen.”

Yuuri wished he could ask for time – go see Victor but instead all he did was grab for the pen and sign his name with a flourish despite the way his heart was beating a staccato beat in his chest.

He managed to share some pleasantries with Christophe – thank him for agreeing to what he wanted (or what he _had_ wanted) and he walked out of the office in a daze. He thought about going to see Victor in the office that had been his own but he felt like doing so would make what they had between them end more abruptly than Yuuri wanted. He still wanted to be in that euphoric post-coital high even though that had been entirely lost during his little meeting with Christophe.

He wanted to drown his sorrows, yet he couldn’t so Yuuri opted for visiting the market research company, hoping that they’d have something sugary and high in fat that would distract and comfort him in his time of need.


	16. Day Fifteen (cont...)

Yuuri avoided Victor all day. Which was quite an achievement as they were in the same building and Victor was texting and emailing him on an almost constant basis. For the first hour, Victor didn’t seem too concerned that Yuuri wasn’t replying to his messages, possibly assuming that he had better things to do (places to explore in the building during his final weeks or products to test) yet by lunchtime it seemed that Victor was _very_ aware that Yuuri was not answering.

At this point, Victor’s messages came through quicker and seemed to be getting more agitated as they were still being ignored.

_Are you okay? V xxx_

_Are you angry? Are you hurt? V x_

_Why aren’t you answering me? V_

Yuuri felt bad about making Victor worry but he couldn’t summon up the courage to respond so instead of replying he turned off his phone and laptop and completely ignored Victor. He knew it was harsh and Victor would worry more but he thought it was the best way to illustrate that he did not want to be disturbed – by making it impossible for him to be disturbed.

Once he arrived home, Yuuri sat on his laptop and arranged the final parts of his move home having to bring forward some of the arrangements due to the change of his notice period and his earlier departure. He organised his flights and organised the courier firm to come with the supplies he needed to ship his belongings. They would then collect the boxes on the Friday before his now Saturday morning departure.

It wasn’t until the boxes, labels, paper work and tape had been delivered by a handsome guy (that Yuuri tried not to appreciate despite his obvious handsomeness) did he turn on his phone again. And this was when he saw the many, many, _many_ text and voicemail messages that Victor had left on his phone. He felt worse than he anticipated seeing the clear worry and frustration from Victor. The last of his messages were all the same thing.

_Please just let me know you’re okay. V xxx_

Yuuri realised that for the majority of the day, he had been out of contact and no one in the office had known where he had gone after his meeting with Christophe. Perhaps Victor worried that something was _really_ wrong with Yuuri or that he had had an accident. Both scenarios explained the worry in those messages. And Yuuri felt very bad about turning off his phone.

To rid himself of the bad feeling, Yuuri ordered pizza with more sides than he needed and ice cream for dessert. He had always known he ate his feelings as a teenager. He was about to do it again despite being an adult.

When his apartment intercom buzzed, Yuuri assumed it would be the pizza delivery guy despite the fact it was a little bit early. Yet when it was Victor, Yuuri was not entirely surprised and let him in with a non-comital wave of his arm.

The first thing that Yuuri noticed when Victor arrived was that he was still wearing his work clothes even though it had been hours since the office “officially” shut. The second thing Yuuri noticed was that Victor looked deeply worried as well as a little bit angry. His arms were folded across his chest and his eyes were scanning Yuuri as though he was trying to discover the reasons for his behaviour.

“Why are you ignoring me? Please tell me I’ve not hurt you or upset you…”

Yuuri crossed his arms across his own chest, a means of defence, as though he was symbolically protecting his own heart. “No… I’m fine,” he replied. 

As he was fine, physically, he just felt depressed and anxious about his sudden departure home. As though he had known it was going to happen, the moving of the date to sooner had disrupted his equilibrium and Yuuri felt unbalanced yet again.

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

Yuuri shifted awkwardly, his eyes not meeting Victor’s steely gaze. “Because… I’m going home.”

“I know _that,_ ” Victor said, “but that doesn’t matter… we still have a few weeks.”

“I leave on Saturday,” Yuuri said bluntly, “Christophe said I was no longer of any use so I could leave early and finish my notice period on Friday.”

Victor looked crest-fallen, his face creasing and his hands turning into his fists as they fell to his sides.

“Christophe asked me how I was doing,” Victor explained, his voice low and his eyes studying Yuuri’s laminate wood flooring, “I thought I’d say it was all positive… I didn’t mean for you to leave earlier. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t blame you. I asked to leave early at the beginning of my notice period. Christophe is just doing what he thinks I want and what is best for the company.”

“You don’t have to go straight away,” Victor said, “you could have a break in Barcelona. Stay in our hotel.”

Yuuri smiled at the mention of “our” hotel yet the smile was fleeting. “Victor… I have wanted to return home for so long and I don’t want to delay that for… whatever is going on between us. There is nothing left for me here after Friday except - ”

“Me?” Victor ventured and Yuuri nodded. “And I’m not enough to delay you?”

Victor’s head was bowed and Yuuri couldn’t see his eyes or expression but by the posture, Yuuri could guess he was not happy. He wasn’t _that_ bad at relationships to not notice.

“Victor…” Yuuri started as he tried to not stumble over his words, “I don’t know what I want right now. I have feelings for you and having sex with you was beyond my wildest expectations but I planned to go home… I don’t belong here. I need home. My mother’s cooking, the hot springs… my own language! I need it all.”

Victor looked up then, his eyes glassy but no tears staining his cheeks. “You leave on Friday, correct?”

“My last day at work is Friday. I fly home on Saturday at 11.23am.”

Victor’s hand went to his chin then, his head lolling and his expression thoughtful. “Then we have five days before you leave.”

“Victor, I- ” Yuuri began and Victor just held up a hand to stop whatever Yuuri’s protests were going to be.

“If this is meant to be… it will find a way. So this week I will show you how we could be together and make the most of our limited time with one another.”

There was a look of determination in Victor’s eyes and Yuuri was sick of denying what every part of him _wanted_ to do – which was to bridge the distance between them and kiss at those soft pouting lips. Victor was intoxicating and Yuuri couldn’t deny he wanted his fill of him before his departure home.

They kissed and Yuuri felt more confident – more confident probing his tongue and nipping at Victor’s lips with his teeth. They were beginning to remove clothes when the pizza finally arrived (late) and Yuuri answered the door with his shirt half off and his hair rumpled by Victor’s hands working through it. The pizza guy look scandalised and Victor only laughed in the background, fully naked, as Yuuri tried to keep a straight face.

Pizza retrieved, they retreated to the bedroom where pizza and sex were alternated between – rounds of pleasure followed by slices of their cooling meal. And as they moved together, Yuuri found himself wondering how he could leave Victor. But exhausted, covered in sweat and cum, Yuuri remembered he need home.

He needed to belong again.  


	17. Day Eighteen

Yuuri licked his lips and admired the way Victor looked as he lifted up boxes, his brow sweaty and his white t-shirt clinging to his well-defined muscles. Victor was helping Yuuri with the process of sorting the boxes for the courier company to collect the following morning. They all had to be labelled and taped up securely with details of what they contained for the customs officers in Japan. It had been a time consuming job but they were nearly finished and Yuuri had been grateful for Victor’s help – he would’ve been doing it all night by himself.

“Where shall I put this one?” Victor asked and Yuuri gestured randomly in response.

“Anywhere. I don’t care.”

Victor grinned mischievously and dropped the box exactly in front of him, right in the middle of the floor.

“I did as you said,” Victor said with a melodramatic shrug.

“Yes… but now it’s in the way,” Yuuri replied with a faux annoyed little huff.

“In the way of what?”

“Me kissing you.”

“Well… I guess I should perhaps move it out of the way then…”

Yuuri only shook his head with a small grin on his face. Sometimes that was the only appropriate response for Victor’s actions. In their brief time together, Yuuri had grown to understand Victor’s quirks and his fleeting expressions and he found it easy to read his feelings and moods. It seemed strange to have known Victor so briefly yet to _know_ him so well.

Yet there was a shadow over their every moment together. And they were represented by the boxes surrounding them and the customs forms they had spent painstaking hours filling in. It was hard to forget Yuuri’s imminent departure but Yuuri was attempting to do just that. To enjoy the good times he was currently experiencing rather than dwelling on the future that was uncertain and apart.

It was unspoken between them – the proverbial elephant in the room – and Yuuri was quite happy with that. He liked this brief romantic bubble between them. It felt like he had fit in a lifetime of close relationships, of romance and of trust in less than a week. It was both energising and exhausting. They had barely stopped when they were together – constantly doing _something._

They’d had extravagant tapas meals of seemingly unending courses of things that Yuuri hadn’t tried before. Yes, he’d tried the various components but there were smoky and spicy flavours that were unfamiliar. Flavours that tasted even better when they were kissed off Victor’s lips.

It wasn’t just the food either – they’d had heady wines and cocktails. Yuuri had never realised that alcohol was so complicated until Victor had taken him to an upscale bar and a private room for a wine tasting and cocktail evening. Victor had joked that they should take a vacation to a vineyard so Yuuri could _really_ understand and drive a convertible through the Spanish countryside and make love in the backseat under the stars. Yuuri agreed it was a good idea even if he did not think it would happen in the future.

Of course, there was the sex. And since Yuuri’s first tentative sexual experiences, he had learnt more than a few tricks under Victor’s careful tutelage. It was like a part of him had been awoken, a part he had never needed previously apart from the occasional masturbatory experience. Yet now he was not only feeling like he wanted it, he felt like he needed sex as much as he needed to breathe and eat. It was the first flush of sexual euphoria and Yuuri was quite obsessed with not only his own pleasure but Victor’s too. He wanted to hear Victor’s breathless moans, the stuttering of his words and the gasped out affirmations as they moved together It was music to Yuuri’s ears and he had become obsessed with hearing those noises again… and again… again. Yuuri had certainly been graced with stamina in the bedroom – he wondered if it was due to all those previous years of abstinence.

Yuuri vaguely wondered, in brief darker moments, how many others had heard Victor’s moans and felt the way his fingers dug into their skin. He felt jealous of those others – those faceless men and women who had spent their nights with Victor. And he was suddenly jealous for those who would hear it after him.

Yet right now, Yuuri did not need to feel jealous. As Victor was _his_ for now and was in _his_ apartment packing up _his_ boxes seemingly desperate to spend as much time together as possible.

“When are the couriers coming to collect?” Victor asked as he finally moved his box to join the others that were labelled and taped.

“In the morning. Between seven and nine.”

Victor groaned. “Well at least we have tonight for fun if we might get interrupted in the morning.”

Yuuri looked up. “Does that mean you’re staying again?”

Victor had stayed the last few nights and Yuuri was glad he had not returned back to his own apartment. His excuse had been that he was avoiding Yuri who was very enthused with his new relationship with Otabek. Yet Yuuri was happy with the excuse. They both had used small white lies with one another so that they could pretend that their relationship had not become as intense at it had.

“Yes. If you want me?”

“Of course I want you.”

As Yuuri did. Not just in a sexual way either. It was more than that and Yuuri, while he had never been in love before, was pretty certain that this – with Victor – was love. As it had to be love due to his bodies treacherous reactions – the feeling that his heart was beating too fast, that his skin was tingling, that his palms were sweaty. Yet it wasn’t just those physical things – there was this contented feeling in his chest and this feeling of belonging with Victor. And Yuuri was unable to think about what it would feel like when he went home. Maybe like a part of himself was missing.

Since it had been established that Victor was staying the night, they went about their newly established night time routine which all seemed like a preamble to the event they both desired. Yuuri thought it crude to call it sex when it felt like more. He hated the term “making love” but it seemed more appropriate than fucking or anything else.

As it took time, building up in slow increments until desire pulsed through their bodies and they were slick with sweat and pre-cum. Kissing was open mouthed and needy, sloppy at times but perfect in its imperfectness. Aroused, bodies entwined and cocks rubbing together, Yuuri knew he wanted more. He moaned and spread his legs in expectation and Victor only shook his head and pressed Yuuri’s thighs down so that they were flush with the bed. With that, Victor straddled Yuuri and settled on his stomach. He grabbed for the lube on the pillow beside Yuuri’s head and offered it.

“Prep me, Yuuri.”

Gasping in surprise, Yuuri only managed a breathless nod in answer and he followed Victor’s instruction as best as he could. Victor guided Yuuri’s fingers, told him what to do and Yuuri already felt too hot in his skin as he considered what was about to happen – that he was going to be inside Victor, fucking him…

Yuuri knew the principle, knew to use lube and fingers and scissor as he had experienced _that_ yet it felt very different actually doing it to someone else and he kept being distracted Victor’s hitching breaths.

When it was done, Victor whispered “it’s enough” and Yuuri removed his fingers and was barely able to breathe before Victor took the initiative. Victor reached behind him and gripped Yuuri’s cock firmly before he lowered himself on it. He seemed to wince at the sensation and Yuuri reached to Victor’s hips and ran his fingers over his skin in reassuring circles.

“It’s okay,” Victor said with a wink. “It’s just been awhile.”

If at first Victor was slow and cautious, it did not last long. He was soon lifting himself up and down with his powerful thighs, his head back and his mouth open in a perfect “o” as he sped up his pace, his cock jutting out as Yuuri gazed up, amazed at Victor yet again.

He was incredible, beautiful and Yuuri couldn’t help reaching out and touching any part of Victor he could reach – firm abs, muscled thighs and hard dripping cock…

Victor’s rhythm was punishing and they came _almost_ together. Victor pumped his own dick, spurting hot cum onto Yuuri’s chest and even his neck and Yuuri followed seconds after, his own hips flexing up and burying himself as he could into Victor’s body as he came.

Breathless and boneless, they lay in the afterglow, their bodies still connected and Victor’s head on Yuuri’s chest, seemingly listening to Yuuri’s heartbeat.

“Now you are truly no longer a virgin,” Victor said as he traced a circle around Yuuri’s right nipple.

Yuuri smiled. “Ruined forever.”

“True… and all my fault.”

The response was a laugh as Yuuri couldn’t deny that. At least despite the fleetingness of their relationship, it had been memorable.

“We should go to sleep… my last day at work is tomorrow.”

Victor mumbled out a “yeah” and detangled himself from Yuuri’s body, departing to the bathroom without another word. Yuuri knew Victor was unhappy about the mention of the last day of work and the fact that marked the end of their time together but Yuuri had been too high on sex and Victor to remember to pretend. There was nothing to be done about it now as he heard the shower turn on.

Yuuri rolled over, still sticky, and waited for Victor to come back to bed.

It would take some time, Yuuri knew enough about Victor to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not long now folks... I only have three chapters left to post...


	18. Day Nineteen

It was to be expected. Yet despite it being a common occurrence when someone left a job, Yuuri was still surprised about his “leaving party”.

It had been intended as a surprise but as soon as Yuuri had arrived on his final day at work, he was very aware that people were skittish and trying to avoid him at all costs. It was as though no one wanted to give away the surprise and they feared that just by being in contact with Yuuri, they would accidentally slip up and give the game away.

On realising that no one wanted him around, or at least until the 1.30pm “meeting”, Yuuri did his last sweep of the building and said goodbye to various acquaintances on the different floors. That done, he spent an hour drinking coffee and ensuring that his laptop was wiped of anything personal before he gave that back to the IT department and that everything useful to Victor was on an encrypted memory stick. As he did the final few tasks, he sipped a latte and tried not to let the inevitable sadness creep into his bones. He missed Phichit sitting and looking for jobs next to him – he had secured one and was now working his notice period, too. But as Phichit had a future, he was busy working and making sure he had contacts. Unlike Yuuri who would never work in the same capacity again.

He had never _really_ liked his job or felt at home in the office or in Barcelona but he had spent three years of his life in the city. There was some nostalgia there. And of course, there was Victor. There was always Victor.

1.30pm rolled around quickly and Yuuri made his way to the conference room. The whole office floor was eerily empty, computers on screen savers and half empty coffee cups left to keyboards. If Yuuri had no idea what was about to happen, he may’ve worried about the sudden quietness. Maybe the world had ended, maybe the zombie apocalypse was starting… maybe a terrorist incident had occurred. But Yuuri knew it was simply a “surprise” party so he only strode forward and opened the glass panelled door.

As he opened it, a loud “surprise” resounded and Yuuri did jump slightly at the loudness despite not being shocked at the actual party. It seemed to make Christophe happy that Yuuri had appeared sufficiently surprised as he was smiling smugly and talking to Otabek. On the conference table was food, alcohol and a large cake with “sorry you’re leaving” emblazoned on it with blue icing. Balloons hung from the ceiling and banners lined the walls with the same phrase. It had ended up being a more elaborate leaving party than previous colleagues had received and Yuuri could guess who had been responsible. That individual was leaning up against a wall, smirking to himself and drinking what looked like champagne.

Yuuri tried to think of what to say beyond thank you but did not have time for such pleasantries as a glass of champagne was thrust in his hand and he was soon caught up in conversations with people he had barely spoken with usually. He sampled the food, drank the champagne and tried to avoid any obligation to make a speech. He was sure it was an obligation he wouldn’t be able to avoid so Yuuri planned to keep drinking so that he was drunk enough to no longer care about being nervous or saying something dumb in front of his colleagues. Getting drunk was _not_ going to be difficult as while there was champagne flowing freely, there was also cocktails in jugs and everyone was pouring large glasses as they ate.

Yuuri had never felt as popular at work as he did now he was leaving. People were asking him about the home he was returning to and what he was going to do now he was leaving such a highly paid job. These questions were easy to answer for all the reasons he knew in his heart – that he did not want the money driven life anymore, that he had been home sick for years and that his parents could probably use his help (after all, they were getting old and they had never been great at running their accounts). He was just glad that no one figured out the harder question to ask – how can you leave Victor?

As while Yuuri thought about it in theory, in practice he felt his heart beating faster every time he looked in Victor’s direction – an anxiety and sadness filling his being.

And Victor would only smile when he realised Yuuri was looking in his direction – that smile with a raise of his glass and a wink. An expression that didn’t say anything about their painful and imminent separation. Yuuri had tried to be like Victor the last few days and enjoy the time they had left together but now with everyone saying goodbye and asking about his future, it was impossible to pretend that he had a future with Victor.

As it neared the end of the work day and “party”, Christophe said a few words about Yuuri as an employee and he was grateful for that as he avoided saying something himself. Christophe’s speech was kind, funny and embarrassing (why did he bring up the stripping?) but Yuuri was barely listening as he had realised that Victor was no longer there.

With everyone’s gaze upon him, Yuuri sought out a familiar face for reassurance, for guidance and Victor was nowhere to be seen. He reasoned he could have gone to the bathroom but even after Christophe raised his glass and toasted Yuuri’s future, Victor had still not returned. Unsettled, Yuuri tried to enjoy the rest of his party and say goodbye to people as they either left work for home or went back to their desks to finish tasks before the weekend. Yet each conversation was a task, each bit of small talk a chore as his mind was elsewhere. It was difficult to focus even as the words were leaving his lips.

Eventually, Yuuri extracted himself from his soon to be former colleagues and accosted Yuri.

“Where’s Victor?” he asked, assuming that Victor’s assistant may have some idea as to his whereabouts.

Yuri shrugged. “He said he had to collect something. Call _him_ to find out where he is.”

The attitude had not been subdued by his recent hospital stay and Yuuri didn’t bother with a thanks as he left the conference room to find somewhere quiet so he could message or talk to Victor.

He couldn’t help it. Yuuri knew it was childish but that didn’t matter. He was still upset that Victor had left his party even though he barely cared for such things. Yuuri decided his old office was the best option for peace and quiet, his feet taking him there without thinking, an old familiar route.

The office was dark as he approached and no one was sat at the desk so Yuuri went inside, thinking about what he was going to ask Victor.

“Why did you leave my party?” No, that sounded childish. Maybe just a simple “where are you?” would suffice?

Yet he didn’t need to think about calling Victor.

“Yuuri?”

Victor was on the floor of the office, cross-legged with the remains of gift wrapping supplies around him. It suddenly made sense why he had departed. A gift. Yuuri was an idiot.

Victor got to his feet and swept the hair from his face. “I was going to wait until later to give you this. Somewhere more private.”

The gift was produced and Yuuri could only stare at the small delicately wrapped box with a small wooden gift tag attached with “Yuuri” written with looped hand writing.

“Don’t worry,” Victor said with a chuckle, “it’s not a proposal. Open it.”

Yuuri did, ruining Victor’s wrapping efforts within seconds. He opened the box gingerly as though he expected a bomb to be inside yet it wasn’t a bomb. It was a ring.

Despite Victor’s words to the contrary, it felt very much like a proposal. As the ring was beautiful – a simple white gold band and Yuuri could only stare at it wide eyed, not sure how to react. It seemed too much, too symbolic, too meaningful and he wanted to know how to politely decline the gift even while another part of him wanted to wear it.

He looked up at Victor who held up his own hand, displaying a matching ring on his finger. “It’s not a proposal, Yuuri. It’s a promise.”

“A promise…” Yuuri murmured.

“A promise to each other. Long distance relationships can work – have you not thought of that? I can visit Japan and you can visit here and there is video calling and the internet. We won’t _see_ each other every day but it will be better than ending this here.” Victor reached for Yuuri’s face, resting his hand on his cheek so that Yuuri could feel the cool metal against his skin. “I don’t want it to end here, do you?”

“No,” Yuuri said quickly, “of course, I don’t- ”

“Good,” Victor said softly and he reached for the ring box, “so wear this ring and I’ll wear mine and it will be a promise that we’ll be together soon.”

Victor picked the ring from the box and raised one eyebrow as he threw the box to the floor. “May I?”

Yuuri nodded as the ring was put on his finger and despite the fact it was _not_ a proposal, it felt remarkably like one.

“Let’s try,” Victor said, a whisper across Yuuri’s lips as he leaned in for a kiss.

It was a soft kiss, fleeting and tasting of champagne and when they parted, Yuuri held up his hand and the ring.

“A promise to see each other soon… I can live with that," Yuuri said as he looked at the gold around his finger, "let's try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters to go - hoping to get them done by Monday...! :)


	19. Day Twenty

The transient nature of airports made them a weird place to spend any time in. It was a half place – a place of coming and going and not staying. A place of fleeting meetings and partings. And today, for Yuuri, it was a place of parting.

Victor had stayed the previous night. They had not had sex, instead, they had simply laid together, wrapped around one another. Yuuri was pretty sure he had not slept and neither had Victor but he didn’t care. He would sleep on the flight. Instead it had been wonderful to bask in the feel of Victor’s skin, the heat of his body, the moisture of his breath on Yuuri’s neck. They hadn’t needed to have sex, all they had needed was skin to skin contact and they had spent the whole night indulging.

In the morning, they took a taxi together to the airport and held hands, their ringed fingers showing their promise to one another. They had not talked during the ride and Yuuri had spent the journey looking out of the window and looking at the water that streamed down the glass. The morning was grey and rainy, appropriate for the events of the day as though the universe itself was upset with Yuuri’s decision to leave. Yuuri tried not to feel _too_ gloomy as this wasn’t the end – it was just a new beginning but it was difficult when home was so far away from Victor.

On arriving at the airport, they both knew they had little time left. Once Yuuri had checked in his bags, he would need to go through security and then to the terminal. And this was somewhere that Victor could not follow as he did not have a ticket. Despite the fact it was not going to be long until Victor would return home, he still came with Yuuri and stood at the side as he checked in.

Check in seemed to take a long time and Yuuri figured this was due to the fact he wasn’t used to flying economy class. He was used to his employers paying for business class and so he bypassed the lines. Now he had to be more sensible with his money knowing that he would likely never earn again like he had done before.

Once check in was complete, he found Victor and gave a weak smile. “I got a window seat,” he said, blandly – an attempt at making dull conversation.

“Is your flight on time?”

Yuuri nodded. “I’ll go through security in five minutes.”

Security – the realm where Victor could not follow. Yuuri almost laughed at his own thoughts, it made it seemed like a mythical quest rather than a mundane chore associated with air travel. They stood together, not daring to say anything as they had said it all last night. They had planned their next few meetings, the times they could call one another via Skype due to time differences and the plan made both of them feel like they could keep their promises to one another. Yet it still was not going to make this goodbye any easier.

Even if the goodbye only lasted until Yuuri landed home. Yet it wouldn’t be the same to speak to Victor, to see him via a screen without being able to touch him. Yuuri knew he would get used to it, that he would adapt but that was going to take time. What had happened had been the very definition of a whirlwind romance – it had been too intense for Yuuri to contemplate what it would be like without Victor fully. It was like he was going to go cold turkey – his favourite illicit substance suddenly gone. Yet he couldn’t stay. He needed home just as much as he needed Victor.

“Call me when you land,” Victor said and he leaned closer to Yuuri so that their foreheads touched.

“I will. I promise.”

“You should go,” Victor whispered.

They kissed then, a slow gentle kiss, as the kiss was all they needed. They didn’t need to talk anymore and when it was done, Yuuri left towards security with a wave, his steps difficult and his whole body heavy.

Once he was through security all Yuuri had to do was wait. He felt trapped as he sat looking around at the other people around the terminal. He could see happy families, could see businessmen and he could see happy couples. He felt out of place by himself – no longer a businessman and no longer part of a happy couple. His knee bounced awkwardly as anxiety filled his body and he suddenly felt like running back through the airport to Victor. Why did he need to go home? Why when a part of his home – a part of his soul – now resided with Victor’s?

His mind raced and he looked down at the shiny white floor of the airport terminal. He could hear the happy busy sounds around him yet Yuuri felt very apart from it. He felt trapped. In stasis and unable to make a decision to go either forwards or back. Yuuri was trapped in his very own limbo and he unable to act on either impulse.

All he knew was that he loved Victor. And he loved his home. And those two things were not able to be together at this time. Maybe one day they would and Yuuri just had to wait.

It was then his flight was called and Yuuri walked ghostlike towards the gate. It was an out of body experience and Yuuri barely noticed that he had moved. It wasn’t until he was sat in his seat, his head lolling on the seat cushion and his gaze looking out of the window did he check his phone once again to see the message from Victor.

_Have a safe flight. Love you x_

On seeing that message, Yuuri took a deep sigh and turned his phone onto flight mode. He noticed as he secured it away and watched the other passengers take their seats, that there was an moisture in his eyes that he wasn’t quite sure where it had come from.

Wiping it away, Yuuri found his seatbelt and prepared for take-off and tried not to think about how he was leaving Victor behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously I didn't get the chapters finished before my holiday but the last chapter should be up very soon... Thanks for reading.


	20. Day Sixty Nine

The noise of the morning ritual in the inn started to worm its way into Yuuri’s sleeping consciousness, disturbing him from his dreams. He didn’t want reality to infiltrate his dream – his dream had been particularly enjoyable. It involved Victor and bubbles and champagne and a very large hot tub. The sleeping fantasy was much more fun that being awake and Yuuri wanted to hold onto those images even as they slipped through his fingers. This never worked and soon the high of his dreams would fade into the low of the reality that Victor was on the side of the world.

Yuuri opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It had been his bedroom since he had been a boy and it showed. Action figures littered the shelves, posters of figure skaters that he had admired and stuffed animals on the bed. It made him feel like his experience in Barcelona had never happened – that his time with Victor had been some teenage dream. Yet as soon as he turned over and grabbed his phone, he would see Victor on his lock screen and he’d remember that Victor was _very_ real. Just very far away.

Sitting up, Yuuri grabbed for his glasses and put them on, looking around his lonely boyhood room. He needed to change the décor, needed to update it and even though Yuuri had been back home for four weeks, he still hadn’t done anything but throw away some of his old magazines. He hadn’t even unpacked the boxes that arrived, meticulously packed by himself and Victor. Yuuri could just not find the motivation.

Maybe it was because it hadn’t been _quite_ the homecoming Yuuri had expected. Or at least, it was exactly the homecoming that Yuuri had expected but that seemed less important when he was missing Victor. Nothing had really changed since he had left home and now everything about Yuuri had changed. It disturbed his equilibrium making him feel like a child once again and like he was a totally different person than the one who had left. It was keeping him off kilter and he wasn’t sure how to remedy that.

Victor helped. They spoke daily and messaged one another throughout their waking hours – this being somewhat challenging due to the time difference and working patterns. It wasn’t perfect but it was all they could manage. It made Yuuri long for one incredible weekend once again. Yet that was difficult to organise. Victor was now very busy at work and Yuuri found himself dragged into local festivities and such. It was making it particularly hard to make firm plans and Yuuri found that the uncertainty was beginning to gnaw at his insides more and more. Maybe this was not going to work despite the faith Victor had in them. Yuuri shook his head. No – he just had to re-adjust to the changes in his life. That was all.

The inn was in worse shape than Yuuri had expected or perhaps he should’ve expected it to be this way as he was well aware of his parents lack of care for the actual making money part of running a business. He was already deep in formulating plans to increase revenue and cut costs. It had meant he had been very busy looking through all the old records his parents had, annoyed by their lack of clear organisation and had started new electronic systems. He had thrown himself into work like he always did.

Despite the fact that Yuuri was burying himself in distractions, namely work, Yuuri still found Victor interrupting his thoughts at regular intervals. He tried to go skating at the local rink which he had frequented during his childhood and teen years but found that it reminded him of their date too much and this depressed him. He decided to not go again.

The highlights of his days were the video calls from Victor even those these could be brief due to Victor’s hectic life. Yuuri could tell that job was getting more difficult for Victor – he had bags around his eyes that he had not had before and the gleam in his eye that Yuuri so loved seemed to have faded ever so slightly. Or maybe he struggled to sleep alone like Yuuri did. Despite the fact he had experienced many years of sleeping alone, Yuuri still found that he longed for Victor in the middle of the night, missing the companionship and the feel of his skin and sound of his breathing close by. Yuuri didn’t realise how quickly he could get used to something and miss it.

Some nights to try and sleep, Yuuri would remember how it felt to be inside Victor or how it felt for Victor’s hard cock to be inside him. He would remember Victor’s lips and the sound of flesh colliding together as the bed rocked underneath them. Those nights he would use those memories to bring himself to completion, a breathless gasped Victor muffled into a pillow as he came.

It was a pale imitation, memories nothing like the real life Victor but it was all he had. At least for now. They had promised they would get time for video sex at the weekend and Yuuri tingled at the thought. As though he wouldn’t _be_ with Victor, he would see and that would be enough.

Yuuri wondered if it would stay enough. While Yuuri was in his home town with very little options or opportunities for romance, Victor was in quite the opposite situation. Surely, Victor would grow bored and find someone else – someone closer, someone who didn’t live in another time zone. It was inevitable.

Sighing out loud, Yuuri tried to drag himself out of his melancholic mood and get out of bed. This was tricky. Or so it seemed to Yuuri. He had been so used to getting up and out of bed with ease when he was working that he had done the opposite since he was home and laid in. Most of the time he wasn’t even sleeping, just lying in the bed and thinking about his life, sinking into despair and a spiral of self doubt. Yuuri knew it wasn’t good for him but failed to think of a better solution. His motivation had all but dried up.

Yes, he had wanted to be home but now he was here Yuuri felt trapped in stasis. Maybe it was because Victor had shown him a glimpse – a glimpse of another life.

A life of making love and drinking wine. Vacations and heady food. Exploring and adventures. It was an exciting life and one with Victor beside him and Yuuri felt stuck in his old childhood room. It made another wave of melancholy flood over him and Yuuri tried to ignore it by finally managing to sit at the edge of his bed like a diver poised to jump. And jump he did. Not because he wanted to get out of bed. But because of a loud resounding bang that came from somewhere in the building and that seemed to the rattle the walls. Yuuri fell inelegantly to the floor from the shock and reached for a hoodie to put on over his sleep clothes so that he could discovered what on earth had made the bang.

Another bang followed the first and Yuuri got to his feet and straightened his glasses, curious about such a dramatic disturbance. Maybe it was the end of the world, Yuuri thought. That was the only reason for drama to reach where he was right now.

The next noise was more baffling but oddly familiar. A bark. The booming bark of a dog. Yuuri felt his heart start to beat fast as he remembered that particular dog bark…

Without thinking twice, Yuuri left his bedroom and raced to see the source of the noise. He hated how excited he felt as he knew he was going to be disappointed. There was no way he was here… it was just Yuuri’s sad little imagination.

Yet as he got closer, Yuuri heard a voice.

“Makkachin… no! Down boy!”

And Yuuri _knew_ then. It was Victor.

And there he was. Surrounded by boxes. Makkachin leaping around and his mother smiling benignly at the man, confused and amused by the sudden chaos she had found herself in.

“Victor…” Yuuri murmured, his voice cracking as he barely believed what he was seeing. That Victor was _here,_ that Victor was in his home…

Victor looked towards Yuuri then, a smile on his face and his hand outstretched and without another word, Yuuri crashed into him like a wave breaking on the shore, his body instinctively taking him where he needed to go. To a home. A different kind of home. A home that belonged in Victor’s arms, with Victor’s lips pressed into his neck that left a trail of butterfly kisses in their wake, with his scent surrounding him…

“You’re here,” Yuuri said.

He backed off then so he could look, their hands still connected and their rings still around their fingers. It was as though Yuuri was trying to convince himself it was not a dream as the whole timing made it seem unreal.

“I am,” Victor said, “as I’m unemployed and heard you may need assistance here?”

Yuuri’s mouth opened and shut a few times as he tried to figure out how to respond.

“Un…employed?”

“Yes, after you left I realised I couldn’t stay in Barcelona so I handed in _my_ resignation and had a four week notice period to fulfil. Christophe was not exactly happy but it seems your assistant was more than capable of job sharing with mine and they are taking over the role quite well.”

Dumbfounded, Yuuri’s mouth opened but no words came out. Victor smiled and reached for Yuuri’s bottom lip, brushing his thumb across them.

“I’d like to stay with you, if that’s okay? Make a life with you?”

Yuuri nodded and then felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He responded by pressing his lips to Victor’s and saying “yes” between each peck of lips. As Yuuri wanted nothing more than Victor to stay with him, to make a life with him… he wanted it all.

Leaning their foreheads together, Yuuri felt Victor’s breath ghost across his lips and he smiled. “You can stay forever.”

“Good, as I plan to be with you forever.”

A bark interrupted the emotional exchange and Yuuri looked over embarrassed to see his mother had dealt with the dog and was beaming in their direction.

“Mother… this is Victor. My boyfriend,” Yuuri introduced him, “and the love of my life.”

As that was what Victor was. And though they had not been together long, a brief snapshot of time during Yuuri’s notice period, they now had forever together and Yuuri couldn’t wait for it to start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done....Thanks for everyone that read and commented! :)


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